Final Fantasy XV: The Call of the Astrals and the forgotten destiny
by lezliehikari143
Summary: ("You can't escape your Fate or forget about your Destiny," -Astraea) The real history of Eos will soon resurface and The Kingdom of Solheim will raise again from the ashes. Astraea a child with a special ability that made her cross path with the destined King of Light. Will their fateful meeting change the prophecy for the better or for the worse?
1. Prologue: Solheim & War of the Astrals

**Prologue: Solheim & the War of the Astrals**  
_"In a time unknown, only a prophecy keeps hope alive in people's hearts. When darkness veils the world, the King of Light shall come." -Final Fantasy XV_

* * *

The screams of agony and turmoil rang all over the great city of Solheim. A woman with black hair and wearing a red dress was running for her life, leading her were two older men. She wanted to speak, but her voice would not come out. She looked up to see several airships locked in battle, some falling in the sky and crashing down around them, causing explosions and fire to ravage the great city.

"Ardyn… Somnus…" she yanked her hands away from them and stopped running.

Both men turned towards her. "Hurry, we need to get out of here, Astraea!" the man with brown hair and eyes said as he grabbed her left hand and ran again.

"NO! I WON'T!" she screamed and stopped again. "I won't leave!"

"Astraea, this is not the right time to be stubborn, we need to go!" the man with raven hair and brown eyes said as he grabbed the other hand.

"NO! I WILL NOT LEAVE! I WON'T LEAVE SOLHEIM!" she shouted again, yanking her hands away, tears flowing from her crimson eyes.

"Astraea please we need to go, there is nothing we can do here…" the older of the two males said, raising his hands towards her, his brown eyes pleading for her.

She gazed at the trembling hand of her older brother. Ardyn's white robe is now covered with ash and soaked in blood. In his right hand, a red broadsword was reflecting the glow of fire around them.

"But… I cannot… just-" she choked, "-leave them… brother."

"Sorry Astraea, our brother is right," the younger male whispered. "They are gone now, there is nothing we can do," he said, in his right hand is a bluish color broadsword identical to Ardyn and like his brother, Somnus's clothes, the black and blue robe is now torn and has several burns on it. He slowly grabbed her right trembling hand and squeezed it. "We need to leave… please. Don't let mother and father's sacrifice go to waste… we can't die here," his voice was soft like a whisper. Even with the surrounding carnage, she can still hear the sincerity of his voice.

"But… Sommy..." her voice trembled, "... we cannot just leave. Let us go back, maybe we can still save them."

"Sorry, Astraea, we can't, they are all gone… please we need to go," Ardyn said stepping forward.

Shaking her head, she took a step back. "No… I won't leave, brother…" Without warning, she turned around and went sprinting back towards the palace.

"NO! ASTRAEA!" Ardyn shouted.

Both brothers are about to run after her but an airship crashed in front of them, it burst into flames, blocking their path towards her.

"ASTRAEA!" Somnus shouted.

She did not listen to the screams of her brothers and continued to run towards the palace. Half-way there she came across a soldier.

"Your Highness! What are you still doing here! Please leave right now!"

"No! I want to fight! Let me fight!"

The soldier groaned, "Sorry Princess, you need to leave. Come... let me take you to safety," he grabbed her hand, but she yanked it back.

"LET ME GO!" she shouted and pushed the soldier, and just like before she turned around and went running again.

"PRINCESS!" the soldier shouted behind her.

While running Astraea saw the carnage around her, she could only shake her head and wipe her tears away as she continued to run. When she reached the plaza, she took a breath of air and leaned on the water fountain. Then suddenly she heard a huge explosion. She turned towards where the sound was coming from, only to see the two front towers of the palace were crumbling before her eyes.

"No…" she whispered as her knees gave way. Her tears could not stop falling as her body trembled.

Time stopped around her. She could not move or even speak. Her crimson eyes gazed at the crumbling building. She could hear the distance voices of Ardyn and Somnus behind her but decided to block all of it.

"It's my fault," she murmured to herself. "My fault," she covered her ears, but she can still hear the screams and battle around her. "NO!" she closed her eyes shut.

"ASTRAEA!"

Her crimson eyes sprung wide open to see an Iron giant in front of her. Its massive sword swung towards her. She could not move and was frozen in place.

"ASTRAEA!" both men shouted as they went in front of her.

Ardyn deflected the sword of the daemon, while Somnus went for the kill. His blue sword plunged into the daemon's heart. It howled in pain as it stepped back. Ardyn then slashed the daemon's head off and it went into the air. Her eyes followed it, it disintegrated into black smoke before reaching the ground. Its massive body fell backward and hit the ground hard. Its decapitated body turned into a pool of black goo and sunk into the ground.

"Astraea!" Ardyn yanked her up. "Let's go, now!"

Before she could react, they started running again. Somnus was leading them while Ardyn kept holding her hand. Her mind went blank as she saw the turmoil around her. Bodies of people littered the street; the houses and buildings were burning and crumbling into dust. They passed by a torn flag waving in the air. (The Fanfic cover photo (Two Phoenix silhouette facing each other, red on the right and blue on the left and in the middle is a red lotus flower.)) The crest of the kingdom of Solheim was burning slowly from the edge. The red phoenix was the first one to burn, next was the red lotus in the middle and then it reached the blue phoenix. She cried as she saw this, shaking her head as she closed her eyes. As they continued to run, her breathing started to get labor as the surrounding smoke was choking her. She coughed hard while trying to catch her breath. She closed her eyes again, for the smoke started to sting it. "We will be okay... Astra… just keep running," Ardyn said as he gripped her left hand tighter as they continued to run.

"Just don't look back," Somnus added, "We will survive this."

She opened her eyes again to see her brothers; they were exhausted, their body full of cuts and bruises. However, it did not stop them from running as fast as they could while holding her hands.

Suddenly a huge explosion caught their attention, and they looked up while running to see a giant red bird. Its crimson feather was glowing bright red, and it was attacking the few remaining airships.

"Reno…" she whispered, her crimson eyes not leaving the battle. With her eyes still fixated above, she did not notice the uneven cobbled road ahead.

She stumbled forward; her body collided with the cold, hard ground. She gasped as the pain shot up into her entire body.

"Astraea!" both men shouted.

She slowly rose with trembling hands and sat on her knees. She saw her brothers were busy fighting several armored opponents. She tried to stand up, but her knees gave up and stumbled again. She was about to try again when something burst out from the ruined palace. A giant humanoid with multiple horns, it howled as it swung his sword around, destroying the remaining towers and buildings around it. Then its gaze slid at her, its orange piercing eyes did not leave her as it walked towards her. It trampled all over the building on its way. When it is mere yards away from her. It reached for her with claw-like nails. She just sat there frozen in place as she heard Ardyn and Somnus screaming behind her. When the giant was about to reach her a beam of white light came down from the heavens. She shielded her eyes and when she opened them; she saw five humanoid figures standing in front of her. The one with black armor with swords as its wings swung its sword towards the enemy, it sliced its front horns, and it howled in pain and stumbled back. Then one of the five turned to her. She had pale blue skin, her purple eyes filled with sorrow and sadness, and it said to her. "Go." Then she felt two firm hands gripped her shoulders and yanked her away.

**...**

Two thousand years passed in the great city of Insomnia inside the Crystal chamber of the Citadel. Bahamut's crystal was glowing brightly as it showed the memory of what happened that day, the destruction of the kingdom of Solheim, and the start of the War of the Astrals. The spirit of the Founder King was watching it solemnly. He sighed deeply as it finished, and he closed his eyes and whispered. _"In a time unknown, only a prophecy keeps hope alive in people's hearts. When darkness veils the world, the King of Light shall come,_" A minute later he opened his blue eyes slowly as he heard someone walking behind him.

"Your Majesty."

He turned around to see a man in his 20s. The person had blue eyes and unkempt red hair tied in a long ponytail and was wearing a black suit jacket and pants. The red-haired smiled brightly at him. "She's back-" he said, "Astraea is awake!" his eyes widened while the redhead continued to smile. "What are you waiting for? She is waiting, go to her, Founder King," he bowed down and looked up again, his smile wider than before. "Your long-awaited reunion finally came... The Fire Maiden... is waiting for you… Somnus."

"Finally," Somnus sighed, "The prophecy will soon come to pass, 'When darkness veils the world. The Flame and the Light will be called once again. The promise that was forgotten will be fulfilled and the call of the Astrals will be heard.' So, where is she? Where is Astraea... Reno?" he asked. "Where is my sister?"

* * *

A/N: HELLO! It is I LezlieHikari and thank you for reading my Fanfic. This is my first fanfiction, and English is not my first language so sorry for the grammar and spelling mistakes.

This story is about a journey of the Warriors of Light, about restoring the bond that was forgotten. The unbreakable bond that lasted throughout millennia, and the call of fate/destiny that must be fulfilled. The story will focus on the history of Solheim and the founding of the Kingdom of Lucis and will have a storyline from Kingsglaive, Brotherhood, and DLC episodes.

I will add Anime/Game quotes in each chapter; I will try using final fantasy quotes at best.

I will have guest characters from other final fantasy games, some of them will stand for my original characters. For I suck at describing appearance so I will just use my favorite character appearance (Face Claim). It will be a slow burn story; the first few chapters will focus on the life of the OC and will gradually go to the main storyline. I must warn you, my chapters are long; I mean super long... 6k to 10k words per chapter. Chapter one is short, but chapter two will have an 8-10k word count. I will be thankful if you stick on it and continue to read my story.

I will add songs from my favorite anime and games. Songs cover from YouTube by my favorite Youtubers and original soundtrack from games. This story will have a theme or song and that is Choosing Hope from FFXV Comrades.

THANK YOU! I hope you enjoy reading and have a wonderful day! ✩

Next chapter The Answered Prayer


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N:** My side characters/OC is the same as their original appearance when they appeared in their respective games. Because I am not very good at describing the appearance and creating new characters so I will just use some characters from other Final Fantasy games just picture them on their outfit and personality but I will just change their surname. Enjoy!

Zack and Aerith's appearance is based on FFVII advent children.

* * *

**The Answered Prayer**  
_"I will stand by you, no matter what happens. I'm yours forever."_  
\- Snow Villiers(Final Fantasy 13)

* * *

**_In a time, unknown, only a prophecy kept hope alive in people's hearts. 'When darkness veils the world, the King of Light shall come.'_**

August 30, M.E 735

Ten years after The Great War between Niflheim and Lucis started. The destined King of Light has been born in the line of Lucis, Noctis Lucis Caelum. His birth prophecies, the end of the never-ending darkness that lingered in the world of Eos but only time will tell whether the prophecy will be fulfilled.

After a month of birth of the prince, the queen died. The joyful celebration turned into sadness and sorrow, the whole kingdom mourned for the death of their beloved Queen, even with a broken heart King Regis did not falter. The kingdom still needed him and his son. He stood tall ready for anything that may come his way. Fate might had been cruel to him, but he did not question it and followed the path of the Kings before him. However, fate has other plans. A single star shining brightly in the sky will change his fate and the fate of his son the King of Light.

September 22, M.E 735

It was just any other night; the bright full moon was hovering peacefully in the clear night sky; its endless velvet sky was littered by millions of stars giving it a majestic look. The bright light of the moon illuminated the calm sea of the Galdin Shoal.

A couple was sitting at the end of the makeshift dock, their feet touching the waters below. The female leaning on her partner's left shoulder stared in silently at the beautiful sea before them, her long brown braided hair plaited with a large pink ribbon, lightly covered their intertwined hands.

The female took a deep breath and said softly. "Why are we here Zack?"

"Well, I did promise you that we go on a date for our wedding anniversary, Right?"

"I know, but why here?" The female leaned away, gazing lovely at Zack's blue mako eyes.

"It's been two years since we are trying to have a child, but The God's above won't hear our prayer," He said softly, gazing at her emerald eyes. "There were rumors that God's gathered at that island," He turned around, pointing at Angelgard where the moon was on its highest peaks. The moon hovered silently between the two winged-like peaks of the barren island, giving the island a mysterious glow. "Maybe if we pray near them, they can hear us, Aerith I wa-"

Aerith suddenly hugged him and whispered in his ear. "With or without a child, I still love you, Zack," she leaned back and caressed his face.

"I just want you to have the life you always wanted," he whispered as he held her right hand close to his face.

"You're the only one I need Zack and beside you can't be a role model for your child. You are reckless and impulsive," she said, taking her hand away and gently smacking her knuckle in his head.

"Ouch that hurt," Zack whined while running his right hand in his spiky black hair. "But Aerith are you okay with this?" he said softly as he stared into her eyes. "I mean our way of living? us being hunters?"

"I know our life is not safe and we can die anytime but not afraid, after all, you are with me," she gave him a warm smile, "I wouldn't have it any other way,"

"Thank you, my love…" he whispered. _"__I will stand by you, no matter what happens. I'm yours forever__." _

"And I will always stay by your side," Aerith brushed away several of his bangs and kissed him on the lips.

As their lips parted, they looked at each other's eyes for several seconds in silence, until Zack spoke again.

"But still I will be a perfect dad for our son or daughter. I can teach them all the ropes in becoming the number 1 hunter," he said proudly.

"Oh. Zack, you never change," Aerith said, standing up and giving her hand towards him. "Let's go, it's almost midnight. Even if you are a great hunter, you are still no match for the larger Daemons."

"What do you mean no match!" he stood up with her help. "With my Buster sword no daemons can defeat me," he boasted while punching his right fist into his left open palm.

Aerith looked at him and giggled, "Right, because you're the number one hunter after all," after she said it, she turned around and started running across the dock.

"Yup that's right," Zack said triumphantly and ran after her.

They shared laughter as they hurried towards the Galdin Quay Restaurant but a light in the sky caught their attention. When they looked up, they saw a meteorite heading towards them. They docked as soon as the meteorite passed their heads and landed near one of the cliffs.

"Whoa! That was close." Zack said. "Let's take a look!"

"Zack, wait!" Aerith called out but the hunter is now running towards the small crater.

When they reached the crater and saw the shimmering meteorite at the center.

"Wow!" That's cool," Zack reached for it.

"Be careful," Aerith warned.

He slowly picked it up and examined it. "Aerith look,"

"So, what is it?"

Looks like crystal shards but I have never seen one like this," Zack said, examining the shard. It has two colors one deep blood red and the other side of it is a shade of royal blue, even with two different hues, it still gives a transparent look. He handed it to Aerith, and she held it up towards the moon. It cast a red and blue tilt across her face.

"Beautiful," she whispered.

"So, what do we do with it, sell it?"

"Sell it? NO! It will be our lucky charm starting right now," she said, pocketing the meteorite.

"Well ok," Zack chuckled and took Aerith's hand, and started to walk back.

After a minute, they reached the safety of the bright lights of the Galdin Quay. They started to walk towards the restaurant to stay at the hotel when Aerith stopped on her tracks and looked back.

"Did you hear that Zack?"

"Huh? What?" Zack asked puzzled as he turned to her.

"Sound like crying"

"It's just wind or Daemons, let's go," he said as he started walking again.

However, Zack stopped when he heard it too. The sound is louder this time and clearer is the sound of a crying infant. They both looked at each other and started to look for the source. They followed the sound, which led them to the gas pumps and saw a basket on the top of the bench near the pumps. They slowly walked towards it and took the blanket off. What they saw made their heart drop, a one-day-old infant, a baby girl to be exact. Aerith gasped and held the crying child. The child stopped crying as Aerith started humming.

"Who do you think left her here?"

Zack looked around but found no one; he searched the basket for any kind of information but there was nothing. After double-checking the surrounding area making sure nobody was there. He walked back to Aerith and the child.

"Nobody is here, looks like she was abandoned," he looked at her and then at the baby.

"Maybe the Gods have answered our prayers after all," he said as he gently stroked the face of the infant with his index fingers. He suddenly jumped when the baby grabbed it.

"Hey don't do that! You will make her cry again."

"Sorry, so what should we name her?"

Aerith gazed at him intently and glanced up at the sky, and saw the millions of stars shining brightly at the dark velvet sky. A smile appeared on her face, with a deep breath she looked down at the baby again who is now sleeping soundly still holding Zack's finger.

"Astraea, her name will be Astraea…"

In the distance above the cliff, a figure cloak in black stared at the couple who is now walking towards the restaurant. "Have the life you deserve...Fire Maiden…," he whispered in a flash of red light the figure disappeared.

* * *

THANK YOU! I hope you enjoy reading and have a wonderful day!✩

Next Chapter Life of an Outsider


	3. Chapter 2

**Life Of An Outsider  
**_"Believe in the future, persist in the present. That's what I'll do!" -Firion (Dissidia)_

* * *

Galahd a region that was attacked by empire fourteen years ago is now slowly rebuilding after the empire had depleted its resources and left it in ruins. Some refugees when to Insomnia the started a new life and joined the Kingsglaive, but some stayed and started to rebuild the once beautiful island. But the daemons are making it too hard to go forward, so King Regis ordered to send some Hunters to help the people of Galahd to recover. Dave the leader of The Hunter organization asked two of his best hunters to help. Zack and Aerith Lumina were ready to retire after years of being a hunter with the main season that they want to live a normal life and raise their adopted daughter Astraea in peace. But because of their sworn duty to protect the people and Zack was born and raised in Galahd, they accepted the mission. Zack with his family returned to Galahd to start a new life.

**June M.E. 751**

The sun is now on it's the highest peak and several Sabertusk is roaming throughout the forest hunting for their next prey. Their lair is located at the center of the lush eastern forest and where beautiful gemstone imbedded in the rocks are scattered all over their lair. Only hunters are brave enough to go near the liar and the town folks are forbidden to go inside the forest. Astraea now 14 years old was the habit disobeying rules and most of the time will go and collect some of the gemstones. She trekked the forest with ease knowing the layout of the forest at heart and avoiding the Sabertusk at the same time. When she reached the lair she saw three Sabertusks sleeping near the gemstones. With her quick thinking, she grabbed a stone and threw it to the other direction far away from her. The Sabertusks woke up and went to investigate it. After the coast was clear she hurriedly went towards one of the rocks and started digging using her mattock. She is always drawn to rubies and she will do anything to get it even if her life depended on it. After collecting all the rubies in the lair she started to walk back when suddenly a flash of light caught her attention. In one of the rocks, a sapphire is sticking out and shining beckoning her to go to it. She was drawn to it as she touched it. She saw a vision, a great white city engulfed in fire, she took a step back and held her head for it made her dizzy and made her eyesight blurred. After a few seconds, she regained herself and started to pick the sapphire away from the rock. She was able to remove it with ease and dusted the remaining soil using her hands.

"Beautiful," she murmured.

She put it inside her satchel together with her mattock and when she was about to stand up, suddenly a shadow cast above her when she looked up and saw a huge Sabertusk looking down at her from the edge of the rock. The alpha Sabertusk growled at her its saliva dripping. She slowly took a step back when she took another step she accidentally stepped on a twig, it made a snapping sound that sent the Sabertusk launching at her. She quickly did a barrel roll avoiding its sharp claws that clipped the top of her hair. When the Sabertusk launched at her again she quickly untied her cloak and threw it towards the Sabertusk. It engulfed the beast head obstructing its vision, the beast slammed its head towards the rock cracking it in half. It growled and tried to shook and clawed the cloak away, Astraea looked at her surroundings to see which is the best plan of action. When the beast was finally able to remove the cloak and it roared and launched at her again. She was able to avoid it and sprinted towards the river. She could hear the beast behind as she waived past trees and jumped over rocks and dead trees trunk. She could now hear and saw the rushing water of the river in the distance, she jumped up from a cliff and used a vine to swing herself to the other side.

"Yes, I made - "

But before she could celebrate the sabertusk was able to leap across the river and launched at her again.

"Oh come on…" she was able to dodge it and went sprinting again.

She went where the river began and saw a small waterfall and a small cave in the center of it. The cave entrance is small and near the ground, so she slid in and backed away from the entrance as the beast claws went in and almost reached her back. The cave is big enough to fit her whole body, as she backed away and looked at the entrance and saw the Sabertusk tried to claw away the rocks to reach her. She crouched back against the wall of the cave and took a deep breath and focused her attention towards the Sabertusk that still clawing its way in. After a few minutes, the Sabertusk retreated outside and howled.

"Phew.. that was close," she sighed in relief.

She heard its footsteps fading away she reluctantly peeked outside when suddenly she heard running, out of nowhere the Sabertusk went into a full sprint and slammed its body at the entrance of the cave and it made her jumped back and hit her head against the wall of the cave. Now with the wall of the cave started to crumble and the Sabertusk was now able to enter half of its body inside, its claws only inches from her face. Her eyes changed color from brown to crimson fearing for her life she quickly grabbed a dagger from her left boot and stabbed the Sabertusk in the heart. It cried in pain and retreated outside. She stayed inside the cave for a minute or two, listening to any sound outside. When she was able to calm down her eyes reverted back to brown. When she heard nothing she went outside and saw the Sabertusk dead. She went and grabbed her dagger from the corpse and washed the dagger in the river.

"That went well," she said to herself and started to walk back to the lair to get her cloak back. She walked slowly keeping her attention in high alert as she knew there were other Sabertusk in the forest. When she reached the lair she grabbed her cloak and dusted off the dirt from it and held it up. The cloak's color is red because it's her favorite color after. Her Mother made that cloak for her and now it's torn vertically in half right in the middle. **_"Well I'm dead,"_ **she thought about how angry her mother will be when she knew that she disobeyed her order again and went inside the forest again. She sighed and put the cloak inside her satchel and she noticed that the birds chirping in the forest stop and silence filled the air. That when she heard several footsteps and low growl around her. She looked around and saw a pack of Sabertusk around her. She jumped back when she heard a loud growl above her. She gazed up at the edge of the rock above her to see the alpha who she thought she killed moments ago glaring at her.

"So no hard feelings?" she said sheepishly while stepping back.

It roared and launched at her and as other Sabertusk did too. She can't run so she crouched down hands above her head waiting for the worst to come. It never did, she heard whimpers and bodies falling on the ground. She looked up and saw her father buster sword in hand and all the Sabertusk dead around her.

"Hi, father," she waved as she greeted him.

"Astraea!" Zack said with an angry voice as he sheathed his sword behind his back. He marched up to her and held her up high using the back of her dress.

"How many times did I tell you!" she winced after hearing her father's angry voice.

"That you should always double-check if is really dead!" Zack's angry voice changed to a cheerful one as he smiled at her.

"Wait!" she pointed a finger at him, "So you've been watching me this whole time! You should have helped me in the beginning!"

Zack put her down gently, "Well.. experience is the best teacher after all," he laughed as he rubbed his right-hand playfully on her hair. "You still have lots to learn," Astraea puffed and knee kicked him it made Zack fall to his knees.

"How about that!" she said.

"Well not bad," Zack suddenly did low kicked and she quickly jumped up but Zack is quick and already on his feet and held his sword above her. She ended up hitting her head on its massive blade.

"Ouch!" she whined while rubbing her throbbing head.

"See! You need to pay attention" Zack jokingly said and crouched down to meet her eyes. Astraea with tears in her eyes started to laugh she suddenly hugged him, which made Zack lose his balance and fall back. They both laughed as they sat down cross-legged at the soft grass.

"So did you get it?" he asked.

"Yes!" Astraea replied while showing her father what is inside her satchel.

"Wow, That would be enough," Zack said as he ramage inside. "What's this?" he pulled out the sapphire gemstone.

"Well I saw it and maybe I can give it to Mother so she can make a necklace out of it." Zack looked at it and said "Nope let me have it, and beside your mother will be furious if she knew you were here and almost got killed," Zack smiled and winked at her.

"Okay, so why do you need that anyway?"

"Well it's a secret, do not tell your mother that sometimes, I will send you here to get some for me," Zack said while putting his index finger on his lips "It's our little secret kiddo,"

They stared at each other for a second and laughed, their laughter echoed throughout the forest.

"And what secret is that!?" both of their bodies stiffened up as shivers ran across their body and slowly they turned around. There standing behind them, hands on her hips and one-foot tapping is Aerith her emerald eyes glaring daggers at them.

"Ahh hi Aerith," Zack said sheepishly as his face turned pale white. "How long have you been there?"

Aerith without a word marched up to them.

"Wait I could explain!" Zack said and hurriedly stood up.

"Well, I'm waiting," Aerith said glaring her husband down when she noticed Astraea slowly walking past her. "Not so fast young lady," Aerith called out and looked at her. Astraea stopped in her tracks and turned to her, "It's all Father's fault, he ordered me to get some gemstone,"

"What!" Aerith turned to him.

"Oh.. that hurt! betrayed by my own daughter," Zack said while clutching his heart joking. Without saying a word Aerith suddenly grabbed the hunter's left ear and twisted it and started to walk towards their daughter. Astraea was ready to run but Aertih caught her and did the same thing.

"You got some explaining to do," she said while walking still holding one ear of her husband on her right hand and her daughter, on the other hand, dragging the two behind her as she stomped out the forest.

"Ouch.. ouch.. not too hard dear," Zack whined.

Aerith stop released her hold and turned to them, "Well don't think you two can get out of this scot-free!"

Father and daughter gulped knowing what horrors lay before them when they got home. When suddenly Sabertusk jumped towards Aerith from behind.

"Mother! Look out!" Astraea shouted.

Aerith suddenly pulled out something from her pocket, It's her collapsible staff. She retracted it and stuck the Sabertusk below its jaw, the Sabertusk fell on the ground and she finished it with another whack on its head. Zack blinked and looked down and saw Astraea looking back at him. He suddenly scooped her up the ran past his wife.

"Bye Aerith!" Zack called out, running for both of their lives while laughing.

"Wait! Zack, I'm not finished with both of you yet!" Aerith shouted as she chased them. Zack ran as fast as he could as he knew that if Aerith caught them, they would be goners. When they reached the edge of the forest. Aerith threw her staff at Zack's. He felt it coming and he suddenly threw Astraea up in the air, luckily someone was able to catch her as Zack turned around enough time to catch the staff mere inches to his face.

"Woah that was close," Zack said but before he can regain his composure. Aerith kicked him in the stomach and sent him stumbling back and fell on his back.

"Ouch…" he groaned

When Zack looked up his mako blue eyes widened for Aerith is now standing before him staff in hand.

"How many times did I tell you not to let your daughter do you work for you!" she said as she drew her staff above her head ready to bring it down to her cowering husband.

"Well, it's good to see nothing has changed."

Aerith staff stopped mere inches of Zack's face and he sighed in relief and glanced up to see his savior. There standing and carrying Astraea bridal style was the leader of the Hunter Organization and his brother-in-law.

"Dave!" Zack said as he wiggled out using his elbows. Aerith noticed it and whacked her staff in his head making him lose consciousness. Astraea seeing her father lying unconscious on the ground made her clung more to Dave.

"Please don't give me to her uncle, she is going to kill me," she said jokingly.

"Sorry, I don't want to anger my sister anymore,"

"Astraea!" her mother shouted.

With the sudden outburst, Dave drop Astraea lucky Zack regained consciousness was able to catch her and went running away again toward their home.

"Zack and Astraea STOP!" I'm not finished with you two yet! she shouted and chased them.

Dave just sighed as he scratched the back of his head and followed the trio home. Upon arriving at the Lumina's household in the far outskirts of the village. He saw Astraea and her father outside doing a squatting exercise.

"How long do we have to do this mother?"

"As long you two learn your lesson," Aerith said while beating her staff on her open palm.

"This is easy I can do this all day!" Zack said enthusiastically, squatting faster.

"That is not fair! This is just an exercise for you, Father," she said as her knees gave way, she stumbled forward but she held her hands forward to catch her fall. She sat on her bottom with both knees bent and her legs turned out away from her body.

"Astraea sweetheart, are you alright?" Aerith asked as she caressed Astraea's face with her right hand.

"I'm sorry, for making you worry,"

"It's ok, just don't ever do it again," she said as she helped her daughter up. "Go change, and start making the fire for the stove."

"Ok," she replied as she went inside their house.

When they knew Astraea is out of earshot Zack turned to Dave and asked.

"So what brings you here Dave?" he asked while squatting.

"I received your letter, about Astraea's new condition."

Zack stopped mid squat and looked at him and then to his wife and said "Not here, let's go inside," Aerith nodded as she followed them inside the house. When they open the door outcome Astraea.

"I will start the fire now,"

"Ok kiddo, just be careful, if you need anything just call us," he said as he put a hand over her head as he passed her.

"Ok,"

**...**

Because the current state of Galahd is not technological advance like the crown city or any city for that matter in the Kingdom of Lucis. They made few attempts to bring back its natural beauty but it all failed because of the sudden scourge of daemons appearing every night. But they have electricity to protect their homes and stay safe during the night. But almost half of the houses there are using an outdoor stone stove located outside a few feet away at the back of the house.

As she heard the door closed behind her. Astraea sighed and kicked a pebble in front of her as she walked toward the stove. She knew that they will talk about her and her ability, they kept pretending that is all alright but she knew that her having this ability is not normal because unlike the Kingsglaive and Crownguard she did not have to use the King's magic to use her ability, she knew that conjuring flames out of thin air is not normal. After arriving at the stove, she opened the hatch and started throwing firewood inside. She took another deep breath of air and exhaled slowly as she remembered the event that changed her life forever. That fateful event is still fresh in her memory as if it happened yesterday.

**_~Flash back~_**

_After celebrating her 8th birthday party with her friends. She decided to go to the Northern forest to take a small stroll. She did not tell anyone and went inside the forest, there she walked silently through the forest floor. Her brown eyes widened to see how beautiful and magnificent it was. She stopped when she heard a Chocobo chick cries in the distance. She went towards the source and saw Red Chocobo chick surrounded by Sabertusks. Without thinking she grabbed a fallen branch and hit the Sabertusk who leaped towards the Chocobo chick, the branch broke in half after throwing the broken branch she grabbed the Chocobo and hugged it protectively._

_"Your okay little one, I'm here," she cooed and brushed the Chocobo's head._

_She is about to run away, but it's too late a dozen Sabertusk has surrounded them. They leaped towards her with no place to run she closed her eyes. She thought she was going to die but went she opened her eyes, she saw a horrific scene all the Sabretusks are all dead around her, torched to death. The people from the village saw smoke coming from the forest they ran towards it. When they arrived at the end of the forest, they saw the destruction as a huge fire burning the forest away. They tried to put it out using water but it did nothing. When they heard crying and pleading from the inside. Zack and two male villagers went inside. They were surprised to see her, at the point where the fire started. They saw her standing in the middle of all that carnage and destruction. Crimson eyes glowing like embers and hair as red as blood and embers fluttering from it. The other males backed away frightened as they witnessed the flames around her and ran away screaming._

_"Monster!" one of the males shouted as he passed Zack._

_Zack did not budge and walked towards his crying daughter and hugged her and when she was about to lose consciousness her eyes reverted back to brown and her hair turned to black and the fire went out in an instant. Starting that day the people from the village treated her like a daemon, she lost all her friends and became an outcast. Nobody would talk to her and they always walked back the other way when they saw her coming. She went from a friendly extrovert to a quiet and shy introvert. That is the reason why she is always alone and spent her days gathering gemstone. Even with a heavy heart she just accepted it and just spent her free time alone in peace in the forest that she loves._

**_~End of flashback~_**

**...**

Inside the house, the trio sat at the dining table. Aerith made coffee for them to drink and some cookies.

"So it's true then?" Zack said as he took a sip of his coffee.

"Yes, the marshal of Crownguard personality said it to me. He wants to meet Astraea in person." Dave said as he split a cookie in half.

"So that means that they want Astraea there, brother?" Aerith asked as she cupped her mug using both hands.

Dave about to answer her question. When suddenly they heard an explosion outside, without delay they sprinted outside.

Early Astraea held out her right hand towards the open hatch and concentrated. She closed her eyes and inhaled and exhaled when she opened her eyes, it's now crimson and she said slowly.

"Fire," But nothing happened, she tried again this time different spell. "FIRAGA!" she shouted.

A fire burst out of nowhere but not at the open hatch but the piles of wood beside the stove. She started to panic when the flames started to run to the oil barrel and when the fire reached it, it exploded and sent her back a few feet.

"ASTRAEA!" both of her parents shouted as they went around the house. They saw their daughter a few feet away from the burning stove and piles of wood. Her face is covered in ashes and her dress is half burned.

"Astraea what did you do?" her mother asked her and helped her up.

"Hurry! let's put out the fire before it reaches your house." Dave said as he grabbed a pile of water.

"That would be pointless," Zack said and looked at his daughter, "Did you do this Astraea?"

She nodded and looked down, "Sorry I was practicing."

Zack sighed and put his hand on Astraea's shoulders. "It's ok, we are just thankful that you're not hurt," he smiled at her and continued. "So can you stop it?"

She nodded again and stepped more closely at the raging fire she held her right hand up and closed her eyes. Suddenly her hair started to turn red from the roots and down.

Dave gasped as he saw this for the first time and Zack put a hand on his shoulder and said, "You haven't seen anything yet."

Hearing her father's words Astraea became anxious about her actions and instead of putting out the fire and it burst into a much larger one. She panicked as her hair changed colors erratically from black to red and red to black.

"Astraea! What are you doing?" Zack shouted.

"No, the fire is getting bigger now!" Dave said as he began to panic.

Astraea is now starting to cry and tremble as she stepped away from the fire. Suddenly Aerith whacked the two panicking adults with her staff and shouted at them. "How can she concentrate if you two are screaming your hearts out!" she glared at them and two stopped and straightened up. Then she turned towards her daughter and put two reassuring hands on her shoulders and gently said, "Don't panic and concentrate, just breath in and out. Order the flames that you want it to do."

Astraea did what she was told to do and held two hands up now, her hair returned being red. Now the fire is now starting to die off and a minute later it was completely gone only ash and cinder remain of the outdoor stone stove.

"It's out now, good job Astraea," Zack looked at her and continued. "But how could we cook our food now?"

"It's good that I bought extra take out from the Crow's nest," Dave said.

"Really! I miss the taste of the food there. Aerith cooking is not that-" Zack stopped at mid-sentence when he felt an ominous present behind him he gulped and said sheepishly. "Yup the food at the Crows nest is great but nothing beats the food cooked by my wife, right Aerith?" he smiled at her.

"Nice save, Father," Astraea chuckled as her hair and eyes returned to normal.

The four of them shared a laugh after they went inside for dinner. After Astraea changed from her burn clothes, they all sat at the dining table and ready to eat, when her mother said something.

"Astraea" she looked at her.

"Yes, mother?"

"When did you start practicing your ability?"

"About two years ago father said it's okay," she turned to her father to ask for help.

Aerith turned to Zack who started choking when he saw her angry face.

He pounded on his chest to dislodge the food and said. "Did I?"

"Yes! You even said If I am able to control it, I can help you in your hunts" she stopped and continued, "He even started to train me how to use a sword and promise me that I can have one."

"He did what!?" Aerith glared at Zack.

"Oh! yes I did," he said jokingly but he suddenly straightened up and his eyes became serious Aerith's anger disappeared and waited for him to speak.

"Yes, I told her that, what's wrong with her ability and why should she hide it. It's a blessing from the Astrals and she should be proud of it and she should know how to use a sword, after all, she is the daughter of the number one and number two hunter after all."

"Yes, but for now we should guide her into controlling it. Not send her into the forest full of dangerous beast," Aerith said her anger returning.

"Oh.. you can't forget about that," Zack laughed nervously.

"So Astraea how's school, everything is a right?" Dave asked.

Even though Galahd is still recovering, there is still a school where Galahd residents sent their children. It only has an elementary and middle school department and has the same curriculum as the crown city.

"Yes," she answered cheerfully but it's a lie. Yes all her grades are straight-A, but the time she spent there is a nightmare. They're a trio of kids who always bullied her because of her ability. Nobody likes her even her teacher. Even if the teacher wanted to fail her, they can't because she always has the right answer and her performance is always top in all her class. So even though she has straight A's, the teachers are not proud of her and still looked at her like she was a daemon or some curse. For one time she set fire on the school courtyard. But it was an accident and she did not intend it, she just protected herself from her bullies who started to throw rocks at her. But starting that day all the teachers and staff avoided and hate her, not once they gave her acknowledgment even she graduating top of the class. Of course, she never did tell this to her parents.

"Yes! she even graduating top of her class," Zack proudly said.

"I knew Aerith told me and asked me to do something about it," Dave said and he ramage the inside of his bag.

"Mother did what?" she tilted her head and asked.

"Here it is," Dave handed her a brown envelope.

"What is this?" She asked again as she opened the envelope her father standing behind her. When she opened it, both of their eyes widened to see the bond letter on the top of the letter.

**Acceptance Letter for Lucis Regal Academy**

_Dear Mr. and Mrs. Lumina,_

_On behalf of Lucis Regal Academy, I am pleased to congratulate you on our acceptance of your daughter Astraea Lumina into our Academy. We have examined her credential and we will be proud to have her in our school and continue the proud legacy of the Lucis Regal Academy._

_The school will start this August and we are looking forward to meeting and being a new part of your daughter's journey to adulthood._

_Best Regards_

_Lulu Spira,_

"WOW! When did you do this Aerith!" Zack exclaimed.

"About last week when I received her last report card," she smiled at her.

"This is great Astraea! you know that Lucis Regal Academy is the top school in all of Lucis and I know that all the new members of Kingsglaive and Crownguard go to that school!" Zack said excitedly while shaking her shoulders.

But Astraea seems to be not that excited and as her parents. Worry and fear can be seen on her face.

"What's wrong Astraea, you don't like it? her mother asked as she approached her.

"Yes, I mean no….. I do like it," she said hesitantly while looking at the letter.

"Why is something wrong?" Aerith asked with a worried face as she turned to her husband. "Don't tell me that you don't want to finish your education and be a hunter like me and your father here." Zack was confused about what Aerith was trying to do. But he understands immediately when Aerith gestured her head towards Astraea with that he knew what to do.

"Hey! what is wrong with being a hunter! We should be proud! we are the first defense against the daemons but Astraea….." he looked at her, "You need to finish education you need it and beside Lucis Regal Academy helped to be the Number 1 hunter in all of Lucis!" he said enthusiastically to lighten the mood of his daughter.

"What if I want that!" she blurted out and turned towards her parent who's standing behind her.

They are surprised by her answer. Zack just sighed and lowered himself to her. He kneeled on one knee to meet his daughter's eyes. "Don't be like me, I know I keep boasting about how great it is to be a hunter but I don't like that life for you Astraea. I like you to live her life of safety and peace," He paused and winked at her and said. "And besides being a Crownguard or Kingsglaive is much greater and more rewarding."

With that sentence, he received a whack on the head from Aerith using the knuckle of her right hand.

"I thought you were going to say the right word, Zack."

"I did," he said while rubbing his head.

"Yeah, but still you want your daughter to be in more danger if she becomes a Crownguard or Kingsglaive!"

With that antics, they were able to make their daughter laugh after a while she straightens up said.

"No, I want to go to high school. I want to learn more but I still want to become a hunter like you two and I know Lucis Regal Academy will help me to reach that, but I'm scared," she started to clasping and squeezing her hands together and continue. "What if something happened, what if what happened early happen inside the school and what if I hurt somebody or even worse killed one. You know I don't have full control of my ability and my emotions. I don't think I could do that, I don'tttt waaant tooo doo thattt," she said stammering her words while shaking.

Aerith suddenly hugged her and said, "No, you won't do that, you know why?" she looked at her eyes. "You're a smart, wonderful, the most caring person I know and I know you will be able to control your power and be able to help people with that, so don't be afraid," she assured her.

"And besides those people on the academy know about your ability they can-" Zack blurted out but stop in mild-way for he should not have said that.

"What? they know about me?" she said as she started to shake violently and her eyes started to tear as her eyes and hair changing colors erratically because of her anxiety. Her hair and eyes change color when she can't understand her emotions or having an anxiety attack or panic attack. When this happens sometime her fire will act upon itself and start burning everything around her and bother her parents knew that. Seeing her reaction they started to calm her down.

"No..no stay calm Astraea, stay calm, look at me," Aerith slowly said and cupped her face with both hands and whispered, "Yes, they knew about you, that is why they want to help you, they are not like the people here and the kids who are always hurting you. They are nice people who really want to help you. So control your emotions and stay calm." after saying that her mother hugged her and ran circles in her back.

Astraea getting calmer by the minute in her mother's arms. Her eyes and hair stopped changing color and she stopped shaking and asked.

"You knew about the school and the boys?" she said tears still in her eyes.

"Yes," Zack said in a flat tone, "I know what those boys did to you, why you develop this anxiety. If your mother did not stop me that day I would break every bone in their body and feed them to the Sabertusk."

"So why didn't you?"

"Because we are not like them, we don't pry into people's weaknesses and fears. And if I did that I will be just like them, we don't stand down to their level," Zack explained. "Besides, I also like you to bring vengeance by yourself"

"Zack!" Aerith shouted at him

"Sorry, I mean show them that you're no pushover and can fight by yourself and when they see it they will back out and leave you alone."

"If you say so, ok then I will do it, I will attend Lucis Regal Academy, but promise me you two will be there beside me."

"That my girl," Zack held his right hand up toward her, she held left hand and high five her father.

"So about those boys, we can leave them in the forest and-"

"Zack! Please stop that! don't listen to your father Astraea his a bad influence," she said while covering Astraea ears.

"Well that is not fair, so there is still your graduation to come and 3 months before the school starts. So how about I train in a proper way of being a hunter," he said excitedly.

"And what kind of training is that?" Aerith asked with raised eyebrows.

"Squatting of course," he said and started squatting.

"So how can it help me control my power?"

"Squatting gives you proper posture, proper beating technique and a lot of stamina," Zack replied.

"No thanks father," she said and turned to her mother and asked, "Can you train me, mother?"

"Of course I will train the proper way," they smiled at each other.

"That hurts betrayed by my daughter yet again," Zack said as he stopped squatting and held his right hand in his chest.

They bring each other into a deep embrace.

"I love you, Mother….Father."

"We love you too our little fire maiden," they both said in unison.

"Ahem! I'm still here you know," Dave chimed in.

"Sorry about that Dave," Zack said as he stepped back and took a seat beside him.

"Ok let's continue our meal before it becomes cold," her mother said as she took a seat again next to her daughter

"But it's already cold now." Zack pointed out.

"I can reheat if I want," Astraea said while standing up and holding her hand on the top of the food in front of her.

"Are you sure? because I don't want to get burned," he said jokingly.

"Yes," she said as her eyes changed color and her hand started to glow red. It radiates enough heat to reheat the food in front after a few seconds she successfully reheats all food.

The trio cheered and clapped for her.

"That my girl!" Zack cheered.

"I'm proud of you Astraea." her mother said.

"You're going in the right direction Astraea," Dave said.

They share a laugh and start eating again while telling the stories of their hunts in the old days.

Nighttime falls at the Lumina household. Their home has only had two bedrooms. She offered her bedroom to her Uncle to use for the time being but he declined and chose to sleep on the couch in the living room. As the clock struck twelve midnight, all of them are now sound asleep. Except for Astraea who tossing and turning her sleep.

_**~Dream Sequins~**_

_She could hear her fast heartbeat, as she ran for her life, lending her two older men. She stumbled and fell to the cobbled road and she looked around and saw a majestic city with several white towers with a red light glowing the middle of each tower that can be seen all over the place, in the distance a large red temple stood in the middle of the city. As she looked around she could only see carnage and destruction. As the entire city is on the brink of destruction as several huge explosions and fire-ravaged causing massive turmoil and death for the entire city and as she is about to stand up when something bursts out in from behind the temple. A giant humanoid with multi horns, it howled as it swung his sword around destroying the towers and buildings around it. That when it turned towards her, its orange piercing eyes did not leave her as it walked towards her. As it walked it trampled all the building on its way. When its mere yards away from her, it reached for her with claw-like nails. She just sat there frozen in place as she heard someone screaming behind her. When the giant was about to reach her a beam of white light came down from the heavens, she shielded her eyes and when she looked again. She saw 5 humanoid figures standing in front of her. One with black armor with swords as its wings, it swung its sword towards the enemy, it sliced its front horns it howled in pain and stumbled back. Then one of the five turned her, she has pale blue skin, her purple eyes filled with sorrow and sadness and it said to her. "Go". Then she felt two strong hands gripped her shoulder and yanked her away._

Astraea bolted upright, she started heaving while clutching her heart as she normalized her breathing. She looked around to see that she was safe and sound inside her bedroom. She looked at her hands to see that they were covered with ash as she burned her bedsheets again. She slowly stood up and took the bedsheet off, revealing that her mattress is full of burn marks, she did not bother replacing the bedsheet and opened her bedroom door to see if anyone is awake. Making sure nobody is awake she went and tiptoe towards the bathroom and washed her hands. After she returned to her room and closed the door ever so slightly. She jumped when she heard something drop behind her and she looked at the open window where a study table is located and saw the wind blowing the curtain inside and knocking a pencil holder in place. She went to it close the window down and arranged the pencil holder. That when she heard claws tapping at the hardwood floor. She turned around quickly and drew the dagger from the other pencil holder. There she saw a pair of blue eyes in the shadow. She always sleeps without light but luckily her room is located where the moonlight cast a pale bluish light inside her room. The creature is on the further side of the room and where the light of the moon can't reach. It slowly walked forwards, she drew the dagger close to her body ready to attack. When the creature went into the light and showed itself is the red Chocobo chick.

She took a deep sighed of relief "Oh, it's you, what are you doing here?"

She bent down and the Chocobo chick nuzzled itself against her body. Even with the red feather, she can still see the two symmetrical deeper red marks below its eyes. It chirped and jumped up to her. She was able to catch it, she stood up and put it down at the table after sitting herself down. It shivered and tucked its head down on his feather and went to sleep. She smiled while playing with its long crest after she took a deep breath and looked up to the moon. She always has that dream, sometimes the scenario will change but the outcome is the same. All her life, she has never had a normal dream. Her dreams always revolved around that burning city and sometimes she dreamt about a war, a battle between an army of robotic soldiers that have red eyes vs humans dress in black clothes. That the only two dreams she always remembers. But the other dream about the war between the robot and the humans always changing, the location and the outcome. So she decided to document it all, writing it within a notebook. She took one of these notebooks out from the cabinet, there are two notebooks one red and the other is blue. The red one is for her dreams about the city and the blue one is for the war between robots and humans. So she took the Red one and started writing, she only wrote the date and time because she already has dreamt it and written it already and she just keeps track how many times she dreamt about it and after she took a sketch pad and draw the humanoid creature in her dream again, this time is more detailed. After she was done, she put all the things back and grabbed the Chocobo chick and slid back to the bed and continued sleeping.

Morning came when she woke up, she couldn't remember any dream except the one with the burning city. She rubbed her eyes and looked down at her bed to see the Chocobo chick is gone. She always wonders where it comes from or where it goes, and why it is not getting any bigger because after all, they met that fateful day 8 years ago. She was happy to have him because he is the only friend she has on that island. She went to open the window, she saw her uncle talking to someone, a man dressed in black, she couldn't hear what they were talking about but she saw that he handled a brown envelope to him and the man walked off. Dave then turned to her window, she ducked down and he did not see her. When she heard a door close that when she stood up and closed the curtain. She was about to walk out when she saw that her cabinet table was slightly open. She examined it and found that the two notebooks had moved, she vaguely remembered that red notebook is on top of the blue one, but now the blue one is on top of the red one, she dismissed it and changed into more comfortable clothes, Blue top, and pants and went to the kitchen. There she saw her mother preparing breakfast and her father is talking to Dave.

"Oh, Morning dear," her mother said, glancing over her shoulder.

"Good Morning," she replied back.

"Oh, there's my little fire maiden," her father greeted and hugged her.

"Good morning Father, please stop calling me fire maiden," she protested and sat at the table.

"So is that what you're wearing?" Zack asks her, Astraea gave him a confused look.

"What do you mean?" she asked as she took a bite of bread.

"Oh, you don't remember what today is?" Her mother asked as she handed her father and Dave their coffee mug.

She looked at the three of them, they are dressed in formal clothes and seem to be ready to go somewhere, "Am I missing something, where are you going?"

"To your graduation of course," her mother said proudly.

"Oh… It's today, I forgot," she muttered.

"Are you not happy Astraea, you are graduating top of your class!" Zack exclaimed.

"Yes, I am,"

"Don't worry about what other people are saying, you did your best and you deserve that award," Her mother said while putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "So change into a more suitable dress, the event will start soon"

"Ok, Mother," she sighed and went to her room and changed into a red long-sleeve pleated skirt dress and blue denim jacket match with knee-high lace-up suede flat boots. She looked at herself and the mirror and said, "You can do this Astraea, just control your emotions and everything will be fine," she assured herself and left her room.

There in the living room, her parents and Dave are waiting for her.

"That perfect but there something missing," Her mother said as she took something from their room.

"Here this will complete your look" she handed her the red cloak that she sew back after being torn in half.

"You fix it!" Astraea exclaimed.

"Yup, After graduation, I got something to give you," she said.

"Me, too!" Her father chimed in.

"Me, three," Dave said.

After thanking her mother and putting on the cloak, they started walking towards the school. The school is not that big, And the event is small with just one hundred people attending including the 30 students who are graduating that year and their parents. When they arrived the crowd went silent and glared at them. Astraea bowed her head down and covered herself more using her red cloak. Dave and Zack returned their glare back at them, the crowd averted their eyes and continued what they were doing. The family seated themselves at the back of the crowd, which Astraea requested even though they there designated for seats her and her parent in front for being the valedictorian. Her parents urged her to go to the front but she did not listen and took a seat instead. They just sighed and took a seat beside her. The program went smoothly as the principal had done with his introduction and welcome address. They called upon each student and distributed their diploma. They were cheered and yelled from the crowd for the other student and when they called upon Astraea the crowd went silent again and whispered to themselves. When she accepted her diploma her parents and Dave yelled and cheered for her, gaining the attention of the crowd who looked at them. She bowed down and hurriedly returned to her seat. When her name is called again to do her valedictorian speech. She started shaking and trembling with fear but her parents gave her encouragement and patted her on the back. The principal gave her the microphone and the stage. When she looked at the crowd she was met with hateful and glaring eyes from them.

She took a deep breath and said, "Today, we share this wonderful occasion with our family and friends. We are now taking the next step in our lives and we need to be strong and hopeful for the future. My god's above guide us on this journey._ Believe in the future, persist in the present. _Congratulations to all of us!"

After saying that she bowed down, but no claps or cheers can be heard. Her eyes started to tear and changed colors. That went she heard her Father shouting and started clapping, her mother and Dave joined in, after a second the crowd followed them hesitantly. She looked up to see her parents smiling faces and she smiled back at them. She gave the microphone back to the principal and ran towards her parents.

Zack gave her a big hug. "I'm very proud of you Astraea, you are truly my living legacy," he said with tears in his eyes.

Aerith just laughed and joined in the hug. After the program was finished they were ready to leave when a family stopped them. The family is composed of five people, a wife, a father, and three sons. They all have white hair except the father who has black hair, they all wore all black clothes.

"Oh, Congratulations Aerith and Zack for your daughter," the mother said while looking at Astraea.

"Oh, Congratulations too, Jenova, for your sons," her mother replied.

"I never thought that she has that knowledge in becoming a valedictorian" she mocked.

"Why is that? Aerith asked with an annoyed tone in her voice.

"Well, after all, you too are hunters right? I never thought hunters send their children to school and now I know that I should never underestimate someone based on their appearance,"

"It's the right, haha," Aerith said, right eye twitching, "And how about Kadaj, You must be proud of him being the salutatorian."

"Of course I'm, his-"

Aerith cut her off the said "After all returning and repeating the same grade again has its advantages,"

As two mothers exchanging words of insult while the fathers just have a staring contest between them. Astraea did her very best to stay calm but that changed when she heard a low and menacing voice.

"Congratulations Astraea," one of the silver-haired brothers said while smirking.

"oh… Thannnk yooou Kadaj," she stammered her words.

With the reaction, Kadaj's smile grew wilder and sinister and his cat-like green eyes focused on her. "I really love, when you talk like that," he teased.

Astraea has no word to say she just froze there and started to tremble. Her parents saw this and quickly bid their goodbyes and started to walk away.

"Goodbye Astraea" Kadaj said while waving. "See you around," he said menacingly.

With that, Zack stopped walking, tightened his right fist ready to turn around. That when Astraea grabbed it with trembling hands as she looked up to him.

"Father don't let's just get out of here."

Zack is now his breaking point, he knows that that's the Kadaj and his brother who broke Astraea's self-esteem, the reason why is now a shy and keep to herself and he wanted to break them too. His eyes are full of hatred ready to kill all of them, that when he felt the trembling hands of Astraea again and saw that her eye and hair are changing colors erratically under her cloak. He took a deep breath and looked at the boy who was still waving at them.

"Is not worth it Zack," Dave said as he stepped in front of him, blocking his sight of the family.

"My brother is right dear, it's our daughter's special day. Don't ruin this for her," Aerith said as she put a hand on his shoulder.

He sighed and his anger faded and looked down at Astraea and smiled.

"Right! you must be excited for your gifts now" he said as he lifted her up and swung her around.

"Father stop!" She protested her eyes and hair returned to normal.

"That enough you two, we need to get home before it gets dark" Aerith reminded them.

Both daughter and father nodded. Zack put her down and started to walk back home.

* * *

_**A/N:** _How's my story for far and is my writing fine? sometimes I do over-describe things that can make the sentence and story longer and I'm working on it. I will update you as soon as possible. I already have a few chapters draft, I just re-reading it and edit it.

THANK YOU! Hope you enjoy reading and have a wonderful day!✩

Next chapter _The Flames Within_


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: Warning mature content (sexual, verbal, emotional and physical abuse.)

* * *

**The Flames Within**

_"It's not a question of can or can't. There are some things in life you just do," - Lightning (Final Fantasy XIII)._

* * *

When they arrived home, Astraea went to her room to leave her diploma and changed her clothes. When she opened the door she stopped when she noticed a black box on the table. She walked slowly towards it as she closed the door behind her. She carefully opened the box, she shrieked but quickly covered her mouth with her right hand so that her parents would not hear her. The box fell from her hand to the floor below spilling the contents, she saw blooded feathers and talons. With her shaking hand she read the note attached to it, it said.

"Hope you enjoy this gift -Kadaj"

She broke down and kneeled on the floor and started hyperventilating. Kadaj and his younger brothers, the twins Yazoo and Loz made her life a living hell during their elementary and middle school years. Her body started to tremble as she remembered all the things the trio did to her. Starting the day she returned to school after the incident.

**_~Flashback~_**

"O_h, look who's back, the monster herself," Kadaj said mockingly as she entered the classroom. All her classmates turned to her, their eyes glaring with hate and disgust. She just lowered her head down and went to her seat as she passed Kadaj. He suddenly kicked her, Astraea stumbled forward and fell on her face, scattering all her books on the ground. Kadaj just laughed seconds later his brothers and all her classmates joined in. She just stayed on the floor as she listened to all of their comments._

_"Why did they let her back anyway.." a male student spoke._

_"Yeah, Kadaj is right, she's just a monster…" a female student whispered._

_"She does not belong here," a female student said in disgust._

_"She will just burn us just like she burned the forest."_

_"Hey get out! we don't want you here," a male student shouted as he threw crumpled paper at her. Seconds later all her classmates joined in. They threw all kinds of things at her, like a broken pencil, eraser, books, and someone even threw a can of soda at her. They all laughed as they continued to call her names._

_"MONSTER!"_

_"DAEMON!"_

_"WITCH!"_

_Astraea eyes started to change color as she held her tears. She suddenly looked up and heard books being torn apart to see Kadaj and his Yazoo destroying her books. While Loz tossed her bag out the window. She just stayed there kneeling the floor as she glared at them._

_"What are you looking at Monster!" Kadaj snarled at her while kneeling in front of her, "Are you going to burn me?"_

_That earned a few nervous laughs around them._

_"Come on, we are all waiting," Kadaj mocked as he grabbed her by the cheek, "Show us your true color. "he sneered at her, his cat-like green eyes glaring down on her brown one, waiting for her to respond._

_Astraea just turned her face in the other way as the bell rang. The silver-haired boy just chuckled as he stood up and walked past her and kicked her again. She just closed both her hands into a fist as she gathered her things. The door opened and the teacher walked in to find her on the floor with all the scattered papers and books._

_"What did you do now Ms. Lumina," the male teacher asked in annoyance._

_Astraea did not reply as she stood up and sat on her chair._

_"I'm asking you a question Ms. Lumina!" the teacher stormed towards her and yanked up from her seat. Astraea looked at him, her eyes turned crimson and the teacher backed away as he let go of her arm._

_"Get out now! and go to the principal's office."_

_Astraea did not say a word and went out of the classroom. Before she closed the door she heard Kadaj's voice._

_"That serves you right Monster!" _

_The room was filled with laughter. She just ignored it and closed the door. The moment she closed the door behind her. She sprinted outside and cried her anger and fears away._

**_~End of Flashback~_**

Astraea could see her eyes changing colors from brown to red and back again as she looked at herself in the mirror. Her tears started to fall and gathered at her knees as she remembered memory during the 8th grade.

**_~Flashback~_**

_As the bell rang, signaling the end of the school day, All her classmates stormed out leaving her behind with a certain silver-haired teen. She quickly gathered her things and she was about to leave when the silver-haired teen pulled her slammed her against the wall. Kadaj put two strong hands at each side of her, locking her in place. She was terrified when she saw Kadaj cat-like eyes looking down at her body. She quivered as he caressed her right cheek._

_"You're quite beautiful Astraea," Kadaj said in a seductive tone, "Why did I not have noticed it before," he leaned in, Astraea just closed her eyes shut and waited._

_"What are you doing!" a male teacher shouted as he entered the classroom. Kadaj was cut off guard and Astraea was able to push him and she ran away from him crying._

**_~End of Flashback~_**

She felt her body getting hotter as her shaking intensifies as remembered the last time they bullied her this year.

**_~Flashback~_**

_Astraea is busy collecting herbs and spices when the trio blocked her path._

_"Going somewhere Astraea?" Yazoo asked._

_"Please leave me alone,"_

_"Oh come, we want to play," Loz teased._

_"Just leave me alone," she shouted and tried to run but Kadaj grabbed her by the arm and yanked her back._

_"Let me go!"_

_"You look parch Astraea," Kadaj said while grinning, "Let us help you with that,"_

_They drag her into one of the abandoned farmland where empty water well is located. She kicked and thrashed in their arm but is no use, they are stronger than her. They threw her down the well, lucky the ground is not that hard she did not sustain any injury or broken bone. She begged and screamed at them to let her out but they just laughed and threw rocks at her and taunted her to use her ability, no her curse as Kadaj called it. But she never did, she will never give them what they want. When they got bored they put a huge wooden board and rocks on top of the well plunging her in eternal darkness and left her. She stayed there for a whole day, screaming her lungs out for anyone who could hear her. At sundown, a storm came and the well started to fill with water. She was able to float up and start pounding at the wood. She tried to use her ability but she failed. That's when she heard a chirping sound. She screamed her last breath of air as she sank down. When she was about to lose consciousness she felt two strong hands yanked her out of the well._

**_~End of Flashback~_**

She started to lose control as she hugged her body, her hands glowing bright red, the flame inside her ready to burst out.

A knock on the door snapped her out, "Hey, my little fire maiden, why are you taking so long, are you okay?"

"Yes, father," she replied as she started to calm down.

"Are you sure, I heard crying?" Zack asked as he opened the door, Astraea sprinted towards it and locked it.

"I'm changing Father, please don't come in. I'm naked, I just stepped on my toes on the foot of a bed," Astraea said as she prayed for her father to believe her lies.

"Ok then, come to the kitchen after you are done changing kiddo," Zack said as his footsteps fade away.

Astraea took a deep breath to normalize her breathing as she slowly walked towards the box seeing the bloody feather she knows that Kadaj has got hold of the Red Chocobo chick and has slain it to make her suffer again. That Red Chocobo chick is her only friend on the island and they know it. After all, they saw her with the Chocobo many times and Kadaj even asked her no he ordered her to give it to him. When she refused so Kadaj made a threat that he always gets what he wants or else.

**_"Did he really get you?_****_"_** Astraea thought as her eyes started to water. She kneeled down and hugged the feather and talon closed to her chest. She about to scream her heart out when the Chocobo chick jumped from the window frame from the outside and leaped down on her lap. She was confused at first but that confusion turned into joy and relief. The Chocobo chick chirped and nuzzled its beak in below her neck.

"You're alive! Thank the Astrals!" she burst out as her tears started to fall.

"Astraea? Are you okay?" her mother asked after hearing her cries.

"Yes, I'm Okay. I will be out in just a second,"

"Okay sweetheart, don't take to long dinner is ready,"

"Ok mother,"

She sighed as she looked at the Chocobo who is now jumping up and down in her bed. She said to herself if Kadaj really did kill her only friend. She will not hesitate to show them what she can really do and bring havoc and destruction towards them. But she put all those thoughts behind her and stroke the Chocobo on its head, it chirped happily at her.

"So do I tell them about it?" Astraea pondered as she changed into a blue sweater and red jeans. She decided not too, for this is the proudest moment in their lives and she doesn't want Kadaj to ruin it for her and her parents. She looked at herself in the mirror and wiped all the tears away and hid the box. After she opened the door and beckoned the Chocobo to follow her. When she arrived in the dining room she noticed that it was dark and quiet and she flicked the switch on.

"CONGRATULATIONS!" Her parents and Dave jump out behind the table with party poppers and blowers.

As expected she was surprised at the wrong way, her eyes turned red and she accidentally cast fira on them. They easily doge it and it hit the wall behind them leaving a scorch mark.

"Stop! It's us Astraea," Zack screamed as the party blowers fell out from his mouth.

She regained her senses and shouted at them. "Why would you do that! I almost burned alive," her eyes started to water and her body started to tremble.

"Oh no no, Astraea, we didn't mean to surprise you like that," Zack cooed as he hugged her.

"Well I told you it's a bad idea," Dave said.

"Sweetheart are you alright?" her mother questioned her and handed her a glass of water.

"Yes, I'm ok now, but our walls have since its better days," she joked as she took a sip.

"Well, it does matter we are moving anyway, Maybe on the day of the move I will let you burn the house down Astraea,"

"No!" Aerith whacked Zack in the head with a rolling pin. "Do not listen to your father, Astraea."

"Ouch! that hurt my dear," he jested.

They all shared a laugh and they heard plates being dropped and saw the Chocobo chick munching away at the table.

"Hey! No," Aerith shouted as the Chocobo hopped down and hid behind Astraea.

"They say Chocobo taste like chicken, and your Chocobo looked pretty tasty Astraea," Zack joked as he looked at the Chocobo cowering behind her daughter.

"Father, don't you dare to lift a finger on him, I will forget that you are my father and burn you to toast," she said sarcastically ready to cast a fire spell.

They all looked at each other and laughed, Astraea dismissed the fire spell and helped her mother arrange the table again. Dave and Zack already seated when Zack spoke.

"Sorry for taking it to far Astraea, we only want to surprise you,"

"You don't have to apologize, father, I should be the one to apologize, and I need to control my emotions more and not cause you any trouble," she said as she sat down at the table beside her mother and lowered her head.

Aerith kicked Zack's feet below the table and glared at him, he gulped and turned to his daughter.

"Don't you worry Astraea, I know you can do it,"

"Really do you think I can, what if I can't and lost control again?" she asked as she looked up to him.

Zack just sighed, _"It's not a question of can or can't. There are some things in life you just do," _he said as he reached out across the table and patted her on the head.

Astraea smiled hearing the encouragement from her father. Zack looked at his wife, she gave him a look of approval, he smiled back at her and continued eating. While eating Astraea will give the Chocobo some vegetables, It happily gobbles it up.

"So are you going to name him? Dave asked.

"I don't have a name for him yet but I am planning too," she replied.

"Who about Reno," Zack said while glancing down.

The Red Chocobo raised its head and looked at Zack. Zack just smiled and returned his attention to her daughter.

"Reno.. hmmm…." Astraea pondered as she gazed down. "That would be perfect, Reno the Crimson Chocobo,"

"Glad you like it, he's a perfect steed for you Astraea, A fiery Chocobo for our Fire Maiden," Zack said.

"So that means I can keep him?" she asked.

"Okay, as long as you take good care of it and stay out of trouble," Aerith replied.

"Oh, Thank you, Thank you," she said as she hugged her mother.

After eating, Astraea helped her mother clean the table while her Father and Dave went into the living room and listened to the radio announcement.

A cheerful voice of the newscaster can be heard. "Report on the attack on the Leide region, the empire is about to set another attempt at penetrating the shield of Insomnia but the brave Kingsglaive has spoiled their plan once again and drove the empire army away with a minimum casualty. Looked like The Astrals still look after the kingdom of Lucis."

Dave and Zack looked at each other and smiled and glanced at Astraea from the living room. After the announcement, they turn off the radio as Aerith and Astraea joined them. Astraea and Aerith sat on the sofa while Dave is sitting in the armchair across from them while Zack is sitting down cross-legged on the carpet between his daughter and wife.

"Ok, present time!" Zack said happily as he handed Astraea a red box.

"You know father you don't have to give anything,"

"Nonsense you deserved that my little fire maiden," he smiled at her.

She glared at him back and said. "Father please stop calling me Fire Maiden, I don't like it."

"Ok fine, I stop calling your fire maiden," he said. "So open it."

She opened it and her eyes widened as she took it out from the box, A dagger with elaborated folded wings hilt design over the blade and a circular crystal in the middle of the wing. The pommel repeats the same image only in smaller in the other direction and with a twisted crystal grip. But instead of a silver blade, it's red just like the flames she controlled.

"Wow! It's beautiful, What is made off?"

"Well remember all the ruby you collected, Dave helped me look for a blade master to create that one of a kind dagger. It is made of Mythril and ruby gemstone, it will be difficult to use by I know you can do it,"

"Thank you father!" she went for a hug and he hugged her back.

"Now maybe you can use it against those bo-,"

Aerith whacked him again in the head with her knuckle. he gazed up to her "What did I do this time?" he questioned.

"For starters, who is the right-minded father, who gives their daughter a dagger as a graduation gift?" she glared. "And give them advice on how to use it?"

"Well, I'm not like those fathers who just let their daughter being bullied and besides in times like this, she needs proper protection against breast and daemons. After all, she is the daughter of the number 1 and 2 hunters all of time, hunters are always ready."

Aerith can't argue with that statement and just sighed and said, "Just be careful with that sweetheart," Aerith said while looking back at the smiling face of her daughter.

"I promise,"

"It's my turn, but please don't kill me because of this Aerith," Dave said as he threw Astraea a small box. Aerith gave her brother a bewildered look but turned her attention again towards her daughter when she heard her gasped. Astraea held the silver chain necklace with a red dog tag on it engraved on one side is Astraea Lumina on the other side is Fire Maiden in bold letters.

"Welcome to the hunter Association Astraea," he announced.

"Really!" Aerith exclaimed.

Dave gulped and said "It's Zack's idea," Aerith wiped her head down at Zack. Seeing Aerith glaring eyes he stepped away and went beside Dave and said. "Well sooner or later you will become a huntress so why not give it to her now," he explained.

"Am I in trouble? Astraea asked as she started to put the necklace on.

"No, but your father and my brother and I will have a serious talk after this," she said in a stern voice.

Both Dave and Zack's faces turned pale white as they chuckled nervously.

"Don't wear it now Astraea,"

Astraea stopped in mild-way in wearing the necklace as she looked at her mother.

"Why?"

"Because you will not have a space of this," she handed her a small blue velvet box.

Astraea opened it and pulled out a golden chain necklace with a pendant that has folded wings shaped like a heart pendant with a gemstone in the middle. The gem has two colors one blood red and the other side of it is a shade of royal blue. It can be worn in two ways, the red side or the blue side of each side has the same folded wings design. Astraea ran her index finger across the pendant suddenly she saw a vision of the city from her dreams, The city is intact without a single flame insight and white towers glistening in the light of the sun, she was surprised at first and dismissed it when she heard her mother's voice.

"What wrong Astraea, you did not like it?"

"No, I LOVE IT," she exclaimed. "Its beautiful mother, where did you get this, I haven't seen any gemstone like this one."

Zack peeked behind Aerith and chime-in, "Is that the meteorite that we found that night Aerith?"

She turned to him "Yes, it is."

"Well, that explains Astraea."

"Explains what?" she asked her father.

"Well remember when we told you about that night?"

"Yes,"

Astraea knew from a young age that she is adopted but it did not stop them from loving and treating her as she was their own flesh and blood.

"Well you're not going to find gemstone-like that anywhere at Eos, It was from the stars, it's a meteorite we found it the same night the Astrals brought you to us," Zack explained as he kneeled down in front of her and held her hands.

"So is that the reason why you named me Astraea? she asked.

"No," Aerith kneeled beside Zack. "I named you Astraea because the stars that night are so amazing and breathtaking, so I decided to call you Astraea because I want to be reminded of that night when my life was finally complete when I held you in my arms," she said as tears started to fall.

Astraea brushed it away hugged her tightly "I love you mother," she said between sobs.

"I love you too Astraea."

"That's not fair where's my hug?" Zack said while pouting.

Astraea and her mother looked at Zack pouting face they chuckled at the sight of it. He scoffed at them and turned away.

"Well someone is jealous, looks like they have the best gift of all!" Aerith joke.

"What no! My gift is the best right Astraea?" Zack protested.

Astraea just laughed and lunged herself towards her parents, They caught her and they shared a deep embrace. "No, your the best gift that the Astrals could give me,"

"Always remember we love you Astraea" both her parents said in unison.

"Love you too mother and father,"

They share a heartfelt conversation while eating a cake that Aerith baked and finish the day by looking at the stars outside and went to sleep before midnight. The day after Dave went back to the mainland. Summer vacation has come and there are still three months until the next school year starts. Her parents told her that they will move to the crown city after a week so that she can adjust to living in the crown city. But she requested to stay for the next two months because she wants to enjoy her vacation, they obliged on her request. Two months pass by quickly during these months, Zack taught her how to use the dagger properly while her mother taught her how to use a fighting staff. Dave will sometimes visit them and watch Astraea trained with her parents. One time they were surprised that she was able to throw her father over her shoulder during a mock training. They were proud of her and making such progress.

She was now able to control her emotions more now and master casting any kind of fire spell. She even created a new type of spell, a molding spell. Now she can mold the fire into any shape and form but it drains her stamina more so she did not use it often. And she discovers something, sometimes her fire will have a life of its own, attacking anything in sight. If she feels her life is threatened and this fire is more dangerous and uncontrollable, she fears it because she can't control it, and her father is the only one the could stop this from happening. So she always avoids feeling this emotion and that is fear. Because of that, she developed a Choleric-Phlegmatic personality. She can switch to being calm to angry within seconds and vice-versa. Her parents notice it but did not stop her for this is helping her to control her emotions and power.

**…**

Early morning at the Lumina household.

"Are you sure you are alright all alone?" Aerith asked as she gathered her things.

"Yes, Mother," Astraea replied.

"This will just take us half a day Astraea," Zack said as he put a hand on her head.

"I'm not a kid any more father," she pouted, "So why can I join?"

"Astraea we already talk about this, you are still young,"

"Maybe after a year, you can join us, our Fire maiden," Zack teased as they walked towards the front door.

"How many times have I told you not to call me that Father!," she pushed him out the door.

"What no goodbye kiss?"

"No, bye!" Astraea slammed the door in her father's face.

"Stop teasing your daughter Zack," Aerith said as she walked away.

Zack just chuckled to himself and ran after his wife, when they half-way towards the dock they hear Astraea running towards them.

"Mother! Father!" Astraea went for a hug.

"Be careful and don't forget to bring me something from the mainland," she said while looking up.

"Of course sweetheart," Aerith bent down and kissed her forehead.

"Don't get into trouble fire maiden," Zack patted her on the head.

"Told you not to call me that," she punched him in the stomach and ran away while laughing.

"Ouch!" Zack groaned in pain while bending down.

"Told you, now let's go, my dear," Aerith said as she grabbed him by the ear.

"Ouch.. ouch…" Zack said as he was dragged by Aerith towards the docks.

As they arrived at the foot of the hill they stopped and looked up to see their daughter waving goodbye to them and they waved their hands back at her and turned away.

Astraea is happily walking back to their home and she did not notice someone following her. When she arrived she started to do her chores after eating her lunch she was bored without anything to do she looked at the clock at 2 pm. She decided to go to the forest, after changing into more comfortable clothes, a red blouse and a blue skirt with black leggings. She decided to go to the eastern forest to train. She always carried the dagger that her father gifted to her after all the dagger comes with a red sheath small enough to put inside her boot. She went to the giant tree where she always spent her time.

"Wow!" she bellowed as she looked up the giant tree. "Maybe I should stop using you as a target. Astraea whispered to herself she ran her right hand on its trunk which is now covered in cuts and scorch marks.

"Sorry," she apologized as she looked up and saw the leaves swaying in the wind. She took a deep breath and put her forehead in the trunk, "Thank you for being a part of my childhood, I will be leaving soon, so is the last time we are seeing each other," Astraea muttered and smiled as she remembered all the fun stuff she and her parents did below the giant tree. The afternoon picnics, the training sessions and mostly the hide and seek she played with Reno.

Astraea chuckled and back away she stayed standing there for a couple of minutes. She decided to start her training. She pulled out the dagger and examined it carefully. She used her left hand in drawing weapons but she was a right-handed person and was confused by that. But she did practice using her right hand but it did not feel right so she started using her left hand to hold weapons and her right-hand casting spells. That day was no different, she was there to train. She took a deep breath and held the dagger in front of her face and concentrated. She could feel the heat from her finger being transferred towards the blade of the dagger. It glowed bright red and later burst into flames, she tried imbuing other daggers with fire but it always caused the blade of the dagger to melt and or shattered into pieces. But this dagger is different, it was able to withstand her flames.

**_"It will be awesome to have a sword like this,"_** she thought, **_"_****_Maybe I will ask mother and father for one."_**

After imbuing the dagger with fire she threw it down at the ground, the blade digging halfway. "FIRE" she snapped her right finger a small fire burst from the dagger the grass around it caught fire, she panicked and started stomping the grass to put it out. She was able to put it out in time before it spread. She sat down cross-legged near the scorched grass and drew the dagger out and shoved it back her left boot and looked up. She took a few deep breaths as she closed her eyes as she slowly lay down. She is about to fall to sleep while listening to the sound of the forest when-.

"Is not very safe to sleep in this forest Astraea," a menacing and low male voice spoke.

Her brown eyes sprung wide open seeing Kadaj standing above her with a smirk across his face.

"Kadaj!" She exclaimed but before she could sit up Kadaj stomped his boot on her stomach, with little force but enough to produce a whimper from her. She clutched her stomach and rolled up her body as she turned sideways from him. This made Kadaj chuckle a bit. But she was able to recover and sat up and glared at him

"What do you want Kadaj!" she barked.

Oh! you're now fighting back, isn't cute," he mocked as he crouched down to meet her eyes.

For the past two months, Astraea has gathered enough courage to fight back as she is able to control her emotions more, she is not afraid to show it to him. When they went to bully her again, she changed from crying to glaring at them, at first this surprised Kadaj but it didn't faze him, in fact, he is now more eager to break her.

"I'm not afraid of you anymore Kadaj!" she declared.

"Really so why are you trembling?" he asked in a condescending tone.

He was right, She was trembling and she hated it when she showed weakness around him. She kept asking herself why she was afraid of him. For goodness sake, she was able to kill several sabertusk and monsters far bigger and deadly than him. But his mere presence sends shivers down her spine and his cat-like eyes are not helping either. Kadaj knew it and was using it to play with her.

"Maybe if I kick you in the stomach you will be trembling too!" she retorted.

"I don't like that tone of yours," he glared at her.

"Just leave me al-," before she could finish her sentence. Kadaj backhanded her, she went down. But before she could recover she felt two hands holding her ankle down and someone yanked her wrist above her head pinning her down and she turned towards them.

**_"Darn it!"_** She thought she was too busy and focused on Kadaj that she forgot about twins. She tried to break free, but she stopped when she felt Kadaj straddle her. Her eyes went wide but went glaring at him in an instant. Kadaj just chuckled and looked at her with malice.

"I don't like those eyes either, and let me tell you this, I don't like that you changed," he said while curling a lock of her hair. "I miss the old you, would you please show us that again Astraea?" he said mockingly.

"Why would I? you just a bully Kadaj and you don't scare me anymore," she said while still glaring at him.

He just scoffed at her remarks, "That a nice necklace," he purred as he ran a finger against it. "Can I have it?"

"Tough luck! I will not give you anything," she snarled at him while trying to break free.

"Oh! is that so?"'

"Get off of me!" she shouted as her eyes turned crimson. Kadaj did not see this spoke again.

"Well then you can give me something else for my trouble," his voice low and threatening.

She about to shout again, when she felt Kadaj's hands unbuttoning her blouse. Her eyes widened again and reverted back to being brown. She started to panic as she wiggled against their grip but they just tightened their grip more and started to laugh.

"STOP!" she screamed.

Kadaj chuckled as he continued to unbutton her blouse, he finished with the last button, his catlike green eyes sharpened as he brushed the fabric away to reveal her fair skin to his eyes, "Lovely," he muttered.

"Kadaj Stop this!"

He smirked maliciously at her as he ran his right hand towards her breasts parting the fabric away. He started groping both of her breasts through her sports bra. She bared her teeth at him, "STOP!" she shouted, The silver-haired teen did not stop and leaned in and licked and nipped the right side of her neck. "STOP! PLEASE! STOP!" she cried but he did not stop, his hands continued groping her breasts and he continued attacking her neck, sucking and biting it.

She clenched her eyes shut, **_"This is not happening…. This is not happening !"_** she screamed internally and closed her eyes as tears started to form from the corner of her eyes.

Kadaj took one last bite on her neck leaving a mark. He leaned back as he gazed at her body, "Look at me!" he ordered, Astraea did not open her eyes as she kept trying to break free, "I said open your eyes!" he shouted and grabbed her chin with his right hand, Her eyes sprung wide open when she felt his lips against her. His kiss was hard and rough, he tried to push his tongue in but she just closed her lips tight. This angered him, he suddenly squeezed her left breast tightly and she was forced to react, she gasped this gave Kadaj an opportunity to plunge his tongue to her mouth. She went into a full panic and she bit into his tongue and bottom lip hard enough to draw blood. He pulled back and backhanded so hard that he cut her bottom lip.

"YOU WITCH!" he shouted, wiping the blood on his mouth.

She was now trembling as he saw his cat-like eyes, full of anger and hatred. "Just be good and I promise I won't hurt you again…" he mocked as he looked at her body, his eyes full of lust and desire, his breathing became erratic while glancing at her body.

Astraea can't believe what is happening to her, she knew Kadaj and his brothers are evil, she thought they won't go this far but she was mistaken, not only did he take her first kiss away but he is now going to assault her. Her mind went blank as tears started to fall and her body trembled.

Kadaj smirked as he noticed the fear and tears in her eyes, he smirked, "Good… just be a good girl and I promise I will be gentle after all, your still a virgin…." he said in a mocking tone. His hands traveled down on her waist and started to undo her belt. She panicked and tried to break free from their hold but they are too strong and begging them is futile. So instead of panicking she concentrate and think of a way out.

_**"Don't panic Astraea, you can do this,"**_ she said to herself. _**"Concentrate…"**_

So she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She felt her body temperature rising and transferred it to her ankle. Kadaj stopped when he heard Loz cried in pain.

Kadaj turned towards him, "What happened," His eyes widened as he saw Loz's burned hands.

Out of nowhere the Red Chocobo chick ran towards Yazoo who's holding her wrist and rammed its head on his stomach, he stumbled down and was knocked out cold. This gave Astraea a chance to draw the dagger from her boot. Kadaj turned his attention toward her again, that's when she slashed the dagger upward to his face. He screamed and stumbled back clutching his face. She bolted up and glared at him holding the dagger upside down ready to attack. Kadaj continued to scream in pain while clutching his face using his two hands blood dripping from the gap of his fingers.

"Fire" Astraea summoned a fire spell using her right hand.

She thought she could finish it now and end all the suffering he has done. But she remembered what her father said to her. She dismissed the fire and put the dagger back in her left boot and looked for the Chocobo chick. The Chocobo chick is now jumping up and down on Loz's stomach she just scooped it up and ran towards the opposite side of the forest. She could hear Kadaj screaming at her but she did not stop or even look back.

**…**

It wasn't long that her legs started trembling, she saw an abandoned barn and went inside to catch her breath. She put down the Chocobo and put her right hand in her heart. It was beating so fast that it was the only thing she could hear, after a minute she calmed down. She buttoned her blouse with trembling hands that went she jumped as she heard the barn door swing open. She looked back to see Kadaj standing there, right hand behind his back holding something, blood dripping from a cut that ran across to his forehead to his nose. If looks could kill, she would be dead by now. He glared at her, his eyes full of anger. She quickly drew the dagger, but it did not stop him as he stomped angrily towards her. The Chocobo charged at him, when it was about to ram its head to his stomach Kadaj hit it with a rotten two by two wooden stripboard that he was hiding behind him. It hit the Chocobo hard enough that it lost consciousness, he hit it again breaking the board in half and kicked it so hard toward the wall of the barn and it went through it. Astraea screamed and ran towards her friend passing Kadaj, he yanked back her using her hair.

"Where do you think your GOING!" he hissed.

She felt Kadaj's strong hand yanked her back to face him but before she could react he punched her hard in the stomach and it knocked the wind out of her. She dropped the dagger as she fell to her knees while clutching her stomach. She glared at him and he backhanded her again. She stumbled down hard, she saw her dagger and crawled towards it, minding the pain in her stomach. She is about to reach it when Kadaj stomped hard on her outstretched hand breaking a few fingers, she bite her lip to avoid screaming and then Kadaj kicked her in the stomach sending her back a few feet, her back hitting the wooden beam she felt the air escape her lungs again. She did not cry but glared at him.

"Tie her up!" he ordered while looking down at her.

Loz and Yazoo scramble on their feet and follow his command. They saw a rusted chain, rope, and pulley. They tie Astraea wrist using the chains so hard that it stops the blood her flowing and they raise her up using rope and pulley. Her feet dangle a few feet above the ground and her head down and looking at the ground.

"See what you did, monsters!" Kadaj hissed at her as he yanked her hair so that she could see his face.

"Me a monster? she said, "Your that one who trying to rap-"

"I'm just joking you know..." Kadaj laughed as he let go of her hair.

"Who would joke something like that! you're the MONSTER, not me!" She snapped and kicked him.

Kadaj was able to dodge it. "Woah! you are really fighting back now," he said. "I was just planning to scare you, but look what you did!" he said while pointing at the wound.

"You deserve it, after all the hell you got me though!"

"Really I was enjoying that," he said while walking around her. "Well then if you must call me a monster then, I need to act the part then right guys?" he turned to them and a smile of malice ran across his face both Yazoo and Loz chuckled.

Astraea's face turned white hearing their laughter and tried to break free from the chain. Kadaj went and picked up the dagger off the ground and turned towards her.

"Wow, this is a nice dagger, you would not mind if I use it just a little bit Astraea" Kadaj teased as he walked towards her.

"GO TO HELL!" she shouted as she kept trying to break free.

"Oh.. that's not a nice thing to say, Astraea," he stopped in front of her. "I notice that you heal fast Astraea?"

She got off guard with the question. "What?..." the only word that came out of her mouth.

"Well, I notice that the wounds and cut I inflicted on you will just disappear in just one day or even just an hour," he said as he pricked his index finger with the dagger to test how sharp it is, "Wow this is really sharp,"

Astraea is now mortified but she does not show it and kept a straight face and said. "So what?"

"I'm just curious," he replied. "Do you have other abilities that we don't know and not showing us?"

She opened her mouth but before any words came out, she felt a sharp pain below the right cheek and where a small cut had been made. She flinched as she felt the pain as it started to bleed out.

**_"Did he really just cut me?"_** she said to herself.

Kadaj just chuckled and yanked her hair up again to see the wound he inflicted. His eyes widened as he saw it started to heal.

"Woah it's really true," he laughed as he took a step back.

Astraea just glared at him and said, "So what! Are you satisfied now?"

Kadaj just chuckled darkly and looked at her with amusement, "You know this will make my, no our revenge into a whole new level," he said as he ran the tip of the blade across her chest. Astraea just looked at him confused, he saw this and suddenly cupped her face using his free hand. "This means Astraea, we can do everything we want to you, without being caught after all without evidence is just your word against ours," he said mockingly and laughed, Loz and Yazoo joined him.

This made Astraea blood run cold and she stiffened up. He saw this and smiled sadistically at her. Before she could protest another cut had been made this time above her breast, she flinched again as she clenched her eyes shut after a minute, her clenched eyes sprung wide open when she felt another cut this time in her forehead.

Kadaj just laughed as he looked at his work. He waited until the wound healed and made another cut. The three of them then take turns in cutting her, in just an hour her body is covered in cuts, some are just healing and some are now fully healed but the blood trail is there still. As they continued to cut her she never cried or screamed. This made Kadaj angry and made the cuts deeper and longer. He chuckled as he cut her more, seeing her flinch at the pain his fuel his rage more. Another hour past Astraea clothes looked like it had been thrown into a paper shredder the ground below her to turn red as the blood dripped from her multiple wounds. Kadaj's breath becomes more horse as he was enjoying every moment. But he did not like that Astraea did not once cry or scream in pain. So he plans to inflict more pain to her.

"Looks like she is not budging," Yazoo said as he circled her.

"Your right brother, maybe we should do sometime else" Loz turned to Kadaj who's standing behind them.

"I know!" Kadaj piped, "Start a fire let see if she really the fire maiden,"

Both Yazoo and Loz grinned as they started to light a small bonfire.

Astraea just looked at him with vacant eyes. She will never let him win, she will never show his weakness ever again. "Are you done now? because I need to go home and start cooking," she joked as she glared at him again.

"Woah, No No No we just got started," he said as he went toward the flame and started to heat the blade of the dagger. "I noticed something else too Astraea," he said while glancing back at her. "That you can't be burned easily," he looked at her waiting for her reaction.

She just gulped and started to wiggle a bit. Yes it's true she can't be burn easily and can take the heat, but for the past hours of torture she can't take anymore and her eyes started to water. He saw this and he smiled at her. After making sure the dagger is hot enough he walked to her again. With any warning, the heated blade touched her already blood soak skin. She couldn't take it anymore. She finally screamed in pain, Her scream is like a melody to Kadaj, the more she screams the more pain he infected her. After another hour past again her skin is now covered with burn marks and cuts, her healing went slowly this time, as if her body is now reaching its end. The sky started to darken as Astraea screaming is the only sound that can be heard throughout the forest. Her head bowed down Astraea did not react as Kadaj made another cut. As the light sun started to disappear it's time for them to leave. They stopped and admired what they did to her.

"Looked like she has learned her lesson now Kadaj," Yazoo lazily said.

Kadaj just looked at him, "You're right, but it's still not enough," he stepped back admiring his work. Astraea has multiple cuts and burns all over her body now and her blue skirt has become red because of all the blood that splattered against it.

"There's something missing," he said as he rose Astraea chin using the tip of the dagger. Astraea did not react because she is now all out of energy and the blood loss is making her tired and weak.

"Ah yes! I haven't made you pay for hurting us. He said as he stepped back and reheated the dagger again. "This will be the last I promise," he said mockingly.

Astraea just looked at him with vacant eyes. "Please stop," she murmured as she felt her consciousness fading out but something is keeping her alert. She felt something inside her ready to burst out and she knew it was not good. This is the same feeling she had when she discovered her ability. The fear for her life, her temperature is starting to rise up tremendously, The color of her eyes turn crimson like fire. She did not want this to happen because the last time she did it caused massive destruction and turmoil and caused her to be called a monster. She will not make the mistake again but the circumstances are making it difficult to control this feeling.

"Please stop, I don't want to hurt you," she said in a low voice that Kadaj did not hear her and continued heating the blade.

"Are you familiar with the saying 'An eye for an eye'?" he said as he cut the rope holding Astraea up, she fell straight to the ground with a loud thud.

Astraea with her last strength sat up on her knees, she saw Kadaj walking towards her. "Please stay back! I cannot hold it anymore," she begged him, her voice vaguely hearable.

"Pardon me, what is that?" he said as he leaned down an ear to her to hear better.

This time her hair is now turning red from the root to the end, and she is now radiating heat from her body.

"What happening to her," Loz asked

"Looked like she is going to show us her ability now," Yazoo said.

The two walked behind Kadaj while smirking when the fire behind them burst into a larger one.

"Finally you gonna show us your curse, I thought you would never show it to us!" Kadaj laughed as he yanked her hair again to look at her dead in the eyes.

"Please stop," she muttered again as tears started to fall.

When he saw this he just laughed. "There are the tears I want to see!" without being fazed by the heat coming from her. Kadaj hovered the heated blade in front of her eyes and said, "An eye for an eye," when he was about to press the blade on her face where she cut him, she said in a flat voice "RUN!" as one teardrop fell to the ground.

In a flash of light, the fire exploded uncontrollably sending the three boys flying in the air as the shock wave hit their body and destroyed the whole barn in the process. They landed a few meters away from Astraea, their body scorched but they are still alive, Kadaj promoted himself up using him trembling hand and saw that Astraea did not move a single inch, her body glowing dark red, her hair turned into blood red and ember flying from it, her eyes as crimson as the flames but are vacant. Kadaj was able to stand up but was knocked down again when the fire shot up in the sky forming a twisting pillar of fire. The pillar of fire is so massive that all the people on the island of Galahd saw this and started to panic. Zack and Aerith just returning from their hunt saw this as their boat had duck at the pier. They looked at each other and ran towards the source of the pillar of fire. The pillar of fire is so massive that it can be seen kilometers away as a red beam of light in the mainland and can be seen even in the great city of Insomnia. King Regis is walking in one of the halls of the Citadel. He stopped abruptly and as he fell an uneasy presence and looked up in the sky he saw the red beam of light in the distance. His demeanor changed into something troublesome and looked back to his shield.

"Get Marshal Leonis, and send him to Galahd at once!"

At the Prince apartment Prompto and Noctis silently play with their phone with Gladio while Ingis is busy cooking. When Prompto gasped, they turned their head towards the blonde-haired teenager as Prompto went and dash to the balcony and point is the sky.

"Hey, guys! Look at that," while pointing at the red beam of light.

"What do you think it is?" Noctis asked as he walked towards the balcony.

"The work of Niflheim I presume," Gladio crossed his arms.

"No, I think it is not, is something else," Ignis said as he arranged his glasses.

The prince who was visually affected can't stop looking at the light beam, A few seconds later it disappeared.

"Ohh, it's over, it's a shame it's kinda cool to look at," Prompto happily said as he walked back inside followed by Gladio.

Ignis glanced at the Prince who's holding his heart, "Are you okay your Highness?"

"Yes, of course," he said and walked back in. "Ready for round two Prompto,"

"Hell yeah! I'm ready," Prompto replied enthusiastically.

Ignis looked back at the sky as he wondered what it was that when he heard the Noctis voice. "HEY! Specks, your food is burning!"

"Oh, my apologies," he went inside.

Back at Galahd the pillar of fire burst opened revealing a phoenix made from pure flames. It screeched as it opened its massive wings, as the wings opened it burned the forest away. It started to flap its wings, each flap sent fireballs being thrown across the landscape. Some fireballs hit the houses, boats on the dock and a few electrical outposts around it. It plunged the whole island into darkness. The sky above Galahd turns ominous red as the fire phoenix is still on the rampage. It flew across the eastern and western forest, burning all its way leaving nothing left. Astraea sat there in place without moving as her tears kept falling, she could see and her fire ravaging the only home she knew and she can't stop it.

"ASTRAEA!"

That's when she hears her parent's frantic scream. Suddenly a ring of fire appeared around her. By the looks of it, her fire now has a mind of its own protecting her from harm. That's why she can't control it even though she ordered it, it will not stop until all the threats have been eliminated. She could see Fire Phoenix started to fly towards the village as she heard her father's voice screaming for her. Zack suddenly jumped inside the ring of fire. The fire went in protected mode and circle her body closer. He took one step toward her and said, "Astraea stop this, I know you can do this," he took a step forward and a fireball shot toward him from the ring of fire and hit him in the stomach. He flinched but did not stop and took another step. The flames circling her became hotter and started to melt Zack leather clothing. But he did not stop and embraced her as the flames enclose around him burning him.

"Astraea I know you are still there, please stop this now," he begged her.

She gazed up at him, she saw her father blue-mako eyes looking down at her.

"Father…" her eyes started to blink back to its natural color as with her hair. She was able to raise her trembling hand and with a snap of her finger, the fire phoenix disappeared in a burst of red light, mere inches away from the few houses left in the village where the villagers took shelter. The flames that ravaged the whole island started to die down. Astraea fell to her father's embrace and lost consciousness.

* * *

_**A/N:** _Just like Zack, Aerith, Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo will play a big role in this story. Especially Kadaj he will be one of the main antagonists. And I did not really describe Astraea's appearance because I'm really bad about describing and I can't draw. So let just use my favorite character as my OC appearance. The beautiful, tough and sexy Tifa Lockheart(with smaller breasts like in FF7 remake). Astraea appearance is based on Tifa when she appeared on Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII.

THANK YOU! Hope you enjoy reading and have a wonderful day!

Next chapter You're my Living Legacy


	5. Chapter 4

**You're my Living Legacy**  
_"There's a time when you have to stop crying and move on."- Jecht (Final Fantasy X)_

* * *

_Astraea woke up in the cold cobble road. She noticed that her clothes had changed, she is now wearing a red dress. She stood up and she studied her surroundings. She was confused because she is now standing in the middle of the majestic city she always dreamt about. But this time the city is whole without a single fire insight. The sun in its highest peak she walked around looked at the white tower. It's more beautiful up close she felt at home and safe. When she arrived at the temple and went there. She pushed open the double doors gently, she saw a throne room. It has two sets of stairs leading to the red throne. In the middle of the stairs is a beautifully elaborated ruby stone firepit with a huge raging fire on it. She walked to the middle and when she heard the doors behind her open and went to look back she saw a blinding light, it forced her to close her eyes but she heard a faint voice calling her name._

Then she woke up again and blinked several times to let her eyes adjust, this time she saw a familiar ceiling, the ceiling of her bedroom. She sat up slowly to see her mother slump down sleeping at the right side of her bed while sitting on a chair. She reached out a hand and brushed her mother's hair. Aerith shot up and looked at her.

"ASTRAEA! You're awake thank the Astrals," She burst out crying as she stood up making the chair fall down behind her as she hugged her.

"Mother? What happened?" She asked as she recalled the events, she blinked a few times that when she remembered. What Kadaj did and the fire Phoenix, she remembered her father jumping into the fire, his wounds and burns he received as hugged her, the last thing she remembered is her father's eyes before she lost consciousness.

"FATHER!" she shouted. "Where is he! is he okay?"

That when Zack burst through the door. Astraea saw her father have multiple bandages on his face, arms and chest and shallow cuts all over his body. She started to cry as she knew that she was the one who inflicted those wounds. Zack ran towards her and hugged her tightly.

"Astraea, Your awake, are you alright?" Zack said his voice was breaking as he sat down on the left side of her bed.

"Yes, I'm alright father," she replied between sobs. "What about you? you look awful,"

"No I'm okay don't worry about me, it's just a flesh wound," Zack reassured her as he held her left hand. "What happened, why did you lose control? Did a beast or daemon attack you?"

Astraea opened her mouth and closed it, as her eyes started to water. Both Zack and Aerith feel her hands started to tremble as they are both holding one hand each using their dominant hand as the trembling started to get stronger they took her hand and held it with both of their hands to stop her from trembling. She revealed everything about what happened. What Kadaj almost did to her, that she was able to protect herself but Kadaj caught her again. She described how they tortured and how long she was able to endure it but in the end, she lost control and summoned the awful and destructive fire. Zack and Aerith teary eyes changed into a pair of murderous ones as their hands tightened around her hands she felt it and whimpered a little, so they let go of her hands. Aerith hugged her again while Zack stood up his fist tighten his eyes ready to kill Kadaj.

_**"I'm going to murder that boy!"**_ Zack can't explain what he is feeling now, seeing her last night full of cuts and burns, he wonders where she got it from, he thought she went hunting again and was attacked by a daemon, for he did not see Kadaj or anyone there, they must have run away before he arrived. But knowing what really happened it fueled his rage more and will stop nothing to take revenge. He started to walk out of the room but Astraea grabbed his right arm.

"Where are you going?" she cried out.

"I'M GOING TO KILL THE BOY!"

"Zack, stay calm you can't just go to him and kill them in cold blood," Aerith said in a low voice as she stood up and stepped in front of him and put her hands and his shoulder.

"What do you want me to do Aerith!" he knocked her hands away from his shoulder. "Just stay here and do nothing, look at her and what they did!" he quivered while pointing at his daughter.

"No, we are going to make them pay for what they have done," Aerith said, her voice ever so soft but with a hint of anger to it. "Let go and talk to the Marshal Cor Leonis, he will know what to do,"

Zack's closed fist is still trembling with anger, as he glared at his wife that's when he felt Astraea hug him from behind.

"Please father, don't do this," she looked up to him. "Please don't ruin your reputation for me... not again." a tear fell off her eyes as she remembered what her father did years ago.

**_~Flash back~_**

_A day after the incident Astraea woke up in the town's hospital. After making sure she was okay, Aerith asked her what happened._

_"Do you remember what happened sweetheart?" Aerith asked as she gently stroked her hair while sitting beside her on the hospital bed._

_"No, I don't,"_

_Both Aerith and Zack both looked at each other, a hint of concern visible in their faces. When Zack was about to open his mouth, someone knocked on the door. It was Dr. Hojo, the island's only doctor/scientist. Hojo entered without asking as he stopped at the foot of Astraea bed. He stared at her, she shivered and hid behind her mother._

_"What are you doing here Hojo?" Zack asked in annoyance._

_"Is the humor about your daughter true Zack? Hojo asked in a raspy voice as he smirked at him._

_Zack glared at him, "What do you mean?"_

_"Well I talked to the two witnesses they said what they saw," Hojo turned again towards Astraea who cowering behind Aerith, "But don't worry, I made them promise not to tell anybody what horrors they saw," Hojo grimaced._

_"So what are you getting at?"_

_"Well it will be a problem if a certain empire got hold of this information," he turned to Zack still grinning._

_Zack opened hand turned into a fist, "What do you want,"_

_"The leadership of the entire island, give it to me,"_

_"What!" Zack bellowed as he gripped the collar of his lab coat._

_Hojo knew about Lumina's family history. They are very known families in not only in Galahd but across the whole kingdom of Lucis, they are one of the most known families of hunters of all second to the Auburnbrie. Before the war started the Lumina had the leader of the island of Galahd, beloved and respected by the people. Zack inherited the position when his whole family died in the empire invasion. This is what Hojo wants, the complete control of the island._

_"Well, you will be busy tending to her daughter and hunting, that you forget that you have a role on this island, I just want to ease the load for you,"_

_Zack just glared at him as he tightened his grip, "So what do you think I will give you that,"_

_Hojo smirked, "You will, for your daughter's safety, like I said the empire who loved to hear about her,"_

_Zack looked over the crazed doctor and towards his family, he saw how frightened Astraea is, his anger disappeared and he lowered Hojo down. "You win Hojo,"_

_"That's better," Hojo said as he straightened the collar of his lab coat, "I promise to keep her secret," Hojo looked back at Aerith and Astraea, "Get well soon dear child," he said and left the room._

_Starting that day, Zack transferred his leadership to Hojo. The doctor did keep his promise, but one of the witnesses did not, he told the entire island about Astraea. With that, the Lumina family lost credibility in Galahad and their whole family became an outcast in their own land._

_**~End of Flashback~**_

"What do you mean, Astraea?" Zack asked.

"Well," Astraea did not want to bring that up so she said a different reason, "You're Lucis Number 1 hunter and hunter don't hurt other people," she let go of him and brushed and her tears away and smiled at him. "You promise we go hunting together, how can you do that if you are in prison," she said sarcastically.

Zack's anger disappeared when he saw her smile and he took a deep breath and bent down and put a hand in her head. "After all you have been through you still have the strength to make jokes."

"Yup!" she smiled again. "After all, I get it from you."

Zack and Aerith chuckled as they hugged their daughter gently.

"You must be hungry, let's eat," Aerith said as she beckoned them to follow her.

"Yup, I'm hungry, so how long did I sleep?" she asked as they followed her mother out her father is beside her holding her hand.

Zack looked at her and said, "A week."

"WHAT!" she stopped her eyes and her hair started going wild.

Zack saw this and panicked. "No, it's just a joke, you only just slept for 12 hours," he bent down and hugged her to calm her down.

"What!?"

"Hmmppp, You should have seen your face Astraea," he joked as he held in his laughter.

"It's not funny Father, I almost lost control again," she pouted and crossed her arms as she glared at him.

"Oh come on my little Fire Maiden, I only joking, and besides you the one who made the first joke, I just returned the favor," he jested as he ruffled her hair.

"Stop!" she protested.

Her father had always been her saving grace, he knew how to calm her down and make her feel safe and she is very thankful for that and because of her Father's antics she started to forget all that had to happen and started to feel safe again and she hugged and smiled at him.

Zack just chuckled when he saw her smiling again. "Ok lunch is ready, come let's eat you need your strength back,"

"For what?"

"Well…..hunting down Kadaj and his brother making them suffer."

"But mother said you should not do that,"

"Just don't tell her mother about our plan-"

Aerith whacked him behind the head with a frying pan and twisted his ear to make him stand up. "You are a really bad influence on your daughter! come on Astraea, let's eat," Aerith walked out of the room Zack in tow.

**…**

Their meal is filled with silence, no one is talking after 20 minutes for silent Astraea spoke.

"Father, have you found Reno yet?"

"No, why is he there with you?"

"Yes, he helped me to get away from them and then we hid in an abandoned barn until Kadaj found us and hit him with a wooden board and kick him,"

"Well no, I have not seen him, in fact, I did not notice there was a barn there when I got there. What I saw there is only ash and cinder around you," he said as he took a bite and after he's done chewing and swallowing he continued. "The matter of the fact there is no sight of life both fauna and floral in all the western and eastern forest, they are all burned to the ground," he blurted out without thinking, he was going to continue when he the consequence his action stopped him talking again. He saw Astraea her hair and eyes now changing color erratically, tears falling and her whole body trembling.

"Whaaaat?" she stammered as her breath became faster and heavier. "You mean I destroyed half of the Island," she stood up and took a step back away from them as she felt that she is losing control again.

"Astraea sweetheart, stay calm, we are here for you, it's not your fault you did not mean it," her mother said softly as she reached out her hands toward her.

"NO!" she shouted. "Don't touch me and stay away from me, his right, Kadaj is right I'm just a monster!"

"No, you're not," Zack shouted

Astraea and Aerith were surprised by the sudden outbursts. He marched up to his daughter and hugged her tight as she wiggled against his embrace as she knelt down.

"Let go, Father! I don't want to hurt you! I'm a monster!" she cried out.

"You will never hurt me Astraea because you're my daughter and you're not a monster. If fact they are the monster for what they did to you, so don't take all the blame and don't let them get to you, You are Astraea Lumina, my beloved daughter and our Fire Maiden" he said in a gentle voice as he looked at his daughter's eyes, his mako blue eyes reflect every word he said.

"but….buuut…" Astraea stammered again.

"Your father is right Astraea, you're not a monster, your ability is a gift from the Astrals so don't fear it and embrace it, we are always here for you," Aerith gently said as she bent down and looked at her.

Astraea whimpered softly as she tried to keep her emotion in, she hugged them both and cried hard on their arms.

"That is Astraea, just cry it all out, let it all out," Aerith whispered as she ran circles on her back.

They all stay like that for a minute when they heard a commotion outside their home.

"LUMINA!" a man shouted.

"COME OUT! SHOW THAT MONSTER TO US! A female shouted louder this time.

Zack and Aerith both stood and peaked through the window. There they saw a mod of people with Hojo and Jenova in front.

"COME OUT OR WILL BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN!" Jenova shouted again.

"Stay here, don't let Astraea out," Zack said as he stepped out the door.

"What do you want?" Zack asked while glaring at the crowd of people.

"Where that monster of yours that you called daughter! show her to us!" Hojo ordered.

"Why should I!" Zack said his voice was getting angrier.

"Look at what she did! the island is now in ruin! and look at what happened to my children they were caught in the fire that your monstrous daughter unleashed!" Jenova said as Kadaj and his brother stepped forward so that Zack could see them.

The trio has burn marks all over their body covered with bandages while Kadaj has several cuts and bruises on his body a huge cut on his face. When Zack saw Kadaj his fist tightened and ready to kill him that's when Astraea burst out the door and went towards him. She held him back so that he would not attack him.

"Father please don't do this!" she begged her father.

"There she is! the monster who destroyed our town!" Jenova shouted while pointing at Astraea.

The crowd started to move forward towards them when Zack and Aerith saw that they were holding knives and wooden boards. Zack and Aerith went into defensive mode and stepped in front of her daughter hiding her behind them.

"GIVE HER TO US! SO THAT SHE CAN BE PUNISHED! FOR WHAT SHE HAVE DONE TO SONS AND TO ISLAND!" Hojo ordered as he stepped forward. Zack stopped him by glaring daggers at him, Hojo gulped and took a step back.

"What!" Astraea shouted at the back as she steps forward, "They should be the ones to be punished! they tried to rape me and went they did get what they wanted, they tortured me by cutting and burning me! that is the reason I lose control and they deserved all the wounds for them are the real monster, not ME!,"

The crowd murmured at each other.

"Really so what proof do you have that my sons all did that!" Jenova asked.

"Here look at my cuts," Astraea rolled up her sleeve but her eyes widened when there was nothing there. Her skin is flawless without a single trace of any kind of wound. She bit her lips hard and looked at Kadaj.

He just smirked at her and murmured. "Told you,"

That when Astraea remembered what he said at that time, he knew that all her wounds would heal in time and she had nothing to show as proof for what they had done, she took a step back. Kadaj is right, it's his word against her words. Now looking at the circumstances they saw what she did to the island and the wounds on Kadaj and his brother it making it worse for her.

"See she lying, we should kill her now before she kills us all!" Jenova shouted and quickly yanked Astraea's hair and threw her to the ground.

"Astraea!" Both her parents screamed her name as they ran towards her but Zack was caught off guard and received a hard punch in the stomach from Hojo. He fell to the ground coughing. While Aerith was stopped by several men with knives, she pulled out her collapsible staff and pointed it towards them ready for a fight. Astraea saw this as she tried to stand up but was kicked down again by Jenova. She was able to take all the beating but seeing her parents suffering is a whole different matter. Hojo was about to hit his father with a wooden board when she shouted at the top of her lungs.

"STOP!"

Flames burst out from her body, scorching all the people around her, except her parents. All of them stepped back as they put out their burning clothes. Because of that Astraea was able to go to his father and help him stand up and she looked at the crowd and they gasped as her appearance started to change. Her eyes are now crimson full of hate and anger, her hair turned into the color of blood. She stood up and walked towards them.

"You can hurt me all you want, you can even kill me but lay one finger on my family, then I will show you the monster you call me to be!" she declared as she summoned two firaga in both hands ready to cast them.

The crowd dropped their weapons and took a step back.

"See she is really a monster!" Kadaj shouted while pointing at her "She needs to die!"

"Why you!" Zack hissed.

"Astraea stay calm, don't let them get to you, don't let Kadaj win!," Aerith called out as she put her hand to her shoulder. She winced at the pain as Astraea's body was burning hot and she burned her palm. Astraea saw this and her body returned to normal as she dispelled the firaga and held her mother's hands.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she started to cry.

Zack stepped in front of them and glared at the crowd and about to speak when a man's voice stopped him.

"What's going on here!" they all turn toward the sound of the voice, Zack's eyes widened when he saw there standing is the leader of the Crownguard himself Marshal Cor Leonis, sheathed sword at hand.

"Marshal! " they all said in unison.

"Can someone explain to me what happened here?" he asked as he stepped between the crowd and Zack's family.

"Glad you're here Marshal, that GIRL, no that MONSTER!, burned half of the island and burned my sons, she needs to be punished!" Hojo hissed.

"Is that true?" he asked as he looked at Astraea who's hiding between her parents. Cor already knew about Astraea and her power, Zack personality went to him 8 years ago about her. He knew what kind of kid she was, so he knew that whatever happened here was not entirely her fault.

Zack is about to talk but Astraea stepped forward and confessed.

"Yes, they are saying the true Marshal, but I didn't mean it, I was just protecting myself."

"What did they do to you, that you end up burning half of the island?" Cor asked her his light-blue eyes piercing her soul.

She gulped and stepped back but she tightened her fists and glared at the trio "They… " she stopped as her eyes started to change color. "They tried to rape me, I'm able to protect myself and I confess that I'm the one who infected those wounds on them,"

The crowd gasped and murmured at each other.

She didn't mind the murmuring around her and continued her voice full of confidence.

"I was able to run away from them, but they were able to catch me," she glared at them again her voice full of anger. "They tortured me by cutting and burning me for 3 hours, I was able to take it all but in the end, I lost control, no my flames went out of control, it was just protecting me. I know I can't prove to you because all of my wounds were healed last night. I can't fully explain it, but my wounds heal faster without any kind of help of potion. I know I should not do that. I will apologize for burning half of the island and I will accept all the punishment but I will not apologize for hurting them, they deserve all of the wounds they received." she stopped as her eyes and hair completely turned blood red. The crowd went quiet like her parents. They were surprised by her truthful confession and her voice did not break even once.

"That's a lie," Kadaj finally said. They all turned their attention to him, "We were just catching fireflies after sunset. When the flames came out of nowhere and nearly burned us we could no longer escape the forest, luckily we found a cave so we took shelter there to escape the flames, right brother" Kadaj turned to Loz and Yazoo.

"Yes, my brother is right," Yazoo said calmly.

"If our brother was not there, we would be dead right now," Loz said as he started to cry.

"Is that right?" Cor raised an eyebrow and looked at the eldest brother, dead in the eye, Kadaj did not flinch, "So you and your brothers were just catching fireflies after sunset?"

"Yes," Kadaj answered with confidence.

"So you're saying the three of you went into the forest after sunset where daemon roam freely?"

Kadaj gulped and took a step back unable to answer him.

"Are you hunters or a warrior, do you have some kind of training to help you fight off a daemon if ever they attack you and you even have a weapon with you?" Cor asked, stepping towards him.

"No! my sons had never held a weapon all their life," Jenova blurted out but put her hand in her mouth as she knew that's the wrong answer.

"So your sons went into the forest without any protection and any kind of experience dealing with daemons or even the breast who roamed the forest. If I'm correct, the Lumina family was sent here to deal with those problems, and with their report and the feedback from your people they are doing a great job."

The crowd went silent. Yes, the people of Galahd requested the King if he could send some of his Crownguard or Kingsglaive to help them rebuild after the Niflheim invaded them 14 years ago. So the King sent the number 1 and number 2 hunters in all of Lucis and that is Zack and Aerith Lumina. For the past 14 years that Island was peaceful and safe, They are grateful towards Zack and his family but because of Hojo's influence, the people turned against them.

"So what, it does mean he did what the girl is saying," Hojo said.

"I can prove it!" Astraea suddenly shouted they all turned their full attention to her as she yanked the Marshal sheathed sword out from his hand and drew it and without thinking she made a long cut on her right arm. She flinched as the sharp blade cut her fair skin. She dropped the sword and the sheath but Marshal was able to catch it. Astraea stumbled back and held her hand forward for everyone to see, her blood drops from her elbow to the ground. Her parents gasped but did not move a muscle. After a minute the Marshal visibly worried about her and was about to get his handkerchief to stop the bleeding. But he stopped, his eyes widened and the crowd gasped when the cut slowly healed up and disappeared leaving only a trail of blood. Astraea uses her hand to wipe the blood away and show them that even a scar is nowhere to be seen.

"See I'm telling the truth, or you still have me to cut my self, even more, to make you believe me," she glared at the crowd.

Kadaj gritted his teeth as he met her glaze after a while, he smirked at her and looked over the Marshal and said. "Well, it does not mean that we did what she was saying."

Cor turned to him, "What do you mean?

"I mean just saying that because she hated our family, she has always been jealous" Kadaj snickered.

Astraea eyes widened, "What do you mean, jealous!"

"I mean our family became the leader of the island and your father wanted it back, That's why you are doing this," he snickered. "You just want to ruin my family reputation."

Astraea could not answer his question and she just tightened her fist. "So you want to play that game huh…" she whispered.

The crowd just looked at her, that went she turned around and walked towards their home and went inside. Her parents were surprised for what she did and Cor, as well as the crowd, went silent

"Where did she go, did I hurt her feelings? I just told the truth," Kadaj said.

Zack turned towards him and ready to kill him once again but the sound of their front door being swung open stopped him in his tracks and looked back. Astraea was marching towards them carrying a box.

"So explain this Kadaj!" she threw the box in his feet," the content of the box scattered all over, there some photo of Astraea in the ground covered with mud and twigs, photo of her with hateful comments written in red pen, torn and shredded piece of clothing and the box with the bloody feathers and talon with the letter. It caught Marshal's eyes and he picked it up but before he could say anything Astraea spoke.

"Ever since the accident 8 years ago, the three of you made my life a living hell. You all bullied me! torture me every day as much possible, and your father blackmail my father in giving the leadership of the island because of me. Because your father is the leader of the island, the people need to follow him, and you and brother can do anything you want! You made my life miserable!"

The crowd went silent again for they knew that what Astraea was saying was true. The whole island is under the hand of Hojo and his family.

"Nobody cared to stop the three of you because they are afraid of what your father will do. You collected taxes from people and live in luxury while the people live in poverty. That will end now, your family is just one big bully who trampled people who are lower than you. But not me and my family, I will save Galahd from your power-hungry family! All of these are proof, you always have made sure to have a souvenir for everything you did, these photos right? You even gave me a copy so that I can show me how pathetic I'm right?" her voice is breaking but she continued. "The last gift that you have given me is that box right, remember or my flames made you forget all the horrible things you have done to me!" She said it in one go without even breathing.

Kadaj stepped back for he does not have anything to defend himself and all the evidence is laid before him before he can talk Astraea spoke again.

"Marshal," she waited for him to acknowledge her. "Kadaj family has been using the funds of Galahd for their own use, That the reason why the island can't move forward." she pointed at the family, "They should be the one be punished not me, but I will take the punishment for burning the whole island but made sure the people of Galahd will be free from them!"

This earned her the Marshal respect as he put a hand on her head. "No one will be punished until this matter is resolved" Cor turned toward the doctor and asked. "Are you going to deny this Dr. Hojo?"

Before Hojo opened his mouth, his wife stepped forward. "Then we want an investigation and a fair trial.

Cor raised an eyebrow towards her. "A trial you say", Cor took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose and said, " Alright then, you will have your fair trial tomorrow afternoon all of you will go to the crown city where we will conduct the investigation by looking at the evidence your family is not looking good Dr. Hojo." Jenova just scoffed at his remark, "Why not today we can't stay on this island, without any light the daemons might come!"

"They will not, I did patrol around the whole island last night," Zack said as he stepped forward and put two reassuring hands on Astraea's shoulder and continued. "Not even a single daemon appeared before me, looked like that daemon was wiped out too or they are too afraid to get near Astraea's flames," He looked down and smiled at her.

The crowds started to murmur. Cor cough to get their attention. "We can't leave the island. There is a huge storm on the mainland. It will be too dangerous to set sail. And I only made it here using a speed boat. If I'm correct, all the boats were destroyed last night because of the..." he looked at Astraea and continued. "Unfortunate accident," Astraea looked at him surprised after he looked back at the crowd, "Tomorrow morning the Crownguards will send boats to get us to the mainland and to Crown city Insomnia. As for now, Dr. Hojo and Ms. Jenova tend to your children and please tell all the people of the village to prepare for evacuation.

Jenova scoffed and said, "Ok then, just promise me that monster won't go near the village again,"

When the crowd is out of sight Astraea crouched down. Her eyes and hair returned to normal as her body started to tremble. Her mother went to comfort her.

"Sweetheart you are so brave, we are so proud of you," Aerith said gently as she hugged her.

"But you know you should let me kill Kadaj," Zack blurted out and Aerith glared at him.

He chuckled nervously, "But Astraea you really did a great job, we don't even know you had this evidence against them, with all of this their family will face all the consequences of their actions," Zack said as he started gathering all the evidence and putting it inside the box.

"I learn it from you Father, you always said be prepared,"

Zack smiled at her as he put the last photo inside the box as Astraea wiggle from her mother embraced and ran towards her father. They both stumbled back, Zack laying at his back while Astraea curled up against his chest.

"So it looked like our plan to hurt him down will not happen," Zack said.

"It's okay, as long as I have you and mother. I will be okay," she whispered as her tears started to fall as she lay in her father's chest hugging him.

"Oh… stop crying we are here for you kiddo," Zack sat up and hugged her. She looked up to meet his eyes as he wiped the tears in her eyes.

"But still we can still hunt them and feed them to the sabertusk," he jested.

"But you said all the monsters in the forest are all dead?" she asked as her father helped her stand up.

"Well we can still do that when we arrive on the mainland, there are many to choose from, so what do you want? they have a…," he asked as he bent down and whispered all the options to her.

Cor and Aerith were just standing near them and watching them in silence as Astraea continued to listen to her father and about planning their next move. Cor is now looking annoyed and turned to Aerith, "Are you sure she, not his biological daughter? they are very much alike,"

Aerith just chuckled softly but it still got the attention of the father and daughter and

"What's so funny?"Zack asked.

"Nothing," she replied.

Zack just shrugged his shoulders and looked at the Marshal, "Hey! Leo, your timing is impeccable, Thank you" he said as he put his arm over the Marshal's shoulder.

"That Marshal Cor Leonis too you Mr. Lumina,"

"Oh come on, don't act too formal," Zack said as he smiled at him.

Cor just sighed and laughed "I always like that upbeat attitude of yours Zack,"

Astraea went to her mother's side and looked at her burnt hand.

"Are you really okay mother?

"Yes, I'm okay it's just a surface burn it will heal in no time,"

"So Zack are you not going to introduce me to your daughter here?" Cor asked as he looked at her as she looked back at him.

"Oh, I almost forgot Astraea," Zack went behind her and put his hands on her shoulders and continued, "Astraea, this is Marshal Cor Leonis Commander of the Crownguard and Cor this is my lovely and brave daughter my little fire maiden, Astraea Lumina."

"It's good to finally meet you Astraea, your father won't stop nagging about you in his letters to me, how proud he is of you and how amazing you are," Cor said smiling as he held a hand to her. She reluctantly shook it and she smiled back.

"I want to say the same thing but my father never once mentions you," she said as she gazed up at Zack.

"Well that Zack for you alright, he never told anyone that he spent his teenage years in the Crown City except for Aerith here,"

"Wait, what!, Why did you two never tell me this? she asked as she stepped away from her parents and pouted.

"Well we were going to tell you when we transfer to the crown City," Zack said.

"Can you tell me now? I don't want to be surprised when we arrive in the crown city tomorrow."

"Okay then, let go inside," Zack said while carrying the box of evidence while walking beside Aerith.

"So Cor, extra dark coffee for you right?" Zack asked.

"Yes, please," Cor replied.

As Zack opened the door they noticed that Astraea did not move and was looking at the direction of the eastern forest.

"Astraea what's wrong?" Aerith asked as she walked back to her.

Astraea looked back at her and asked. "Can I take a walk for a bit?"

Aerith stopped on her tracks. "Do you want me to go with you?"

"No, I'm fine, mother I just want to be alone for a bit, if that's okay with you?"

Aerith looked back at Zack, he gave her a nod to let her go then she turned to her again. "Okay sweetheart, just be careful and don't take too long,"

"Okay mother, I will be quick," Astraea said as she started walking towards the forest.

Aerith waited for Astraea to be out of sight before moving that when she felt a hand on her shoulders and she looked back to see Zack. "She will be alright, it will be a great closure for her," he smiled as his wife and she smiled back. "Now let go we need to pack our things," Zack held her hand and went inside their house followed by Cor.

**…**

Astraea reached the forest. She was surprised that the healthy forest is now barren, the once lush forest is now burned to the ground. The trees that stood tall are now stripped of its leaves and branches leaving just a hollow burnt trunk. She walked slowly on the ash-covered forest floor. Every step she took disturbed the ashes below her feet. The scene before her caused her eyes to water as she continued to trek the forest looking for something. Her father was right, nothing survived, not even tiniest grass was scorched. There is nothing in the forest but dead silent no birds chirping, no insect noise even the wind stops blowing.

_**"I did this?"**_ she questioned herself.

She continued to walk while touching the remains of the hollow trunk she stopped when she heard a crunching noise below her feet. She looked down to find the remains of a scorched bone of a sabertusk. Her eyes and hair started to change color but she just shook her head and made her eyes and hair return to normal. She continued walking determined to reach her destination. After a few minutes of walking in silence, finding no life whatsoever she reached her destination, the burned down barn where it all happened. She walked in the middle of it, anyone won't believe that there was a barn that stood there, for it's all now ash and cinder a few scorched planks of wood. Astraea stood there in silence and when she closed her eyes, she remembered the events of that day and heard her screams.

_**"Stop!"**_ The phantom voice in her head kept repeating itself.

She covered her ears with her hands and kneeled down to stop the phantom noise in her head. Her breathing became heavier and faster as her anxiety attack went into full gear. Her eyes were full of tears as it changed color erratically together with her hair. She wanted it to stop but she cannot as her body started to tremble uncontrollably. She looked at her trembling hand. She managed to run it across her face to brush her hair upward and over her head so that she could see clearly.

"Keep calm...keep calm…," she said in a low voice over and over again.

Then she looked at the sky and screamed as much as her lungs could take and she looked down and started punching the ash cover ground with her two fists. At first, the punches were slow alternating between left and right but soon she picked up her pace and started punching faster and harder. Every punch she can feel the sharp rock piercing her fist but she did not stop. She punched the ground until her fists became numb and red but she still did not stop. Because she wanted these feelings to go away the feeling of regret and doubt. She blamed herself for not being able to control it and having to destroy that only place she loved where she spent her childhood. She cursed herself and started to hate every fiber of her being.

"Stupid… stupid…. STUPID!,"

She starts screaming while still punching the ground as her tears fell to her fists. As the tears hit her fist it started to sting a bit for her fist is now full of cuts and bruises. She stopped and looked at her hands. She clasped her trembling hand together and put it in her heart as she bends down ever more her head is touching the ground. She could feel her heart beating so fast that it could burst out any time but when she closed her eyes she saw her parents' faces, their happy and smiling faces. She remembered what they said. It's not her fault and she just defended herself and it will come to the past, remembering her parent's smile and encouragement stop her from trembling, her eyes and hair return to normal. She sat upright and looked straight up.

"They are right," she thought, "I should not blame or curse myself. I need to prove to them that I can do it, I can control it. I will make them proud. I will not let them win, I will stand up and recover from this," she said to herself. She took a deep and said in a low voice, "I will make sure this does not happen again. I am going to control it, I will not let fear take me again," she whispered as she stood up and looked up to the sky and screams

"I WILL BE IN CONTROL, I WILL NEVER FEAR ANYTHING AGAIN. I WILL FACE IT ALL. I WILL NEVER LOSE CONTROL EVER AGAIN!

After screaming her heart out she regains her composure, she chuckled softly to her newfound courage for she knew_ There's a time when you have to stop crying and move on. _After a few minutes of just standing still, she started to walk here. She last saw her friend the Chocobo and kneeled down again and started to dust it off.

**_"Please Please don't be here,"_** she kept repeating it inside her head. Her eyes widened to see nothing, no bone, talon or red feather. She dusted the area around it but nothing. She sighed in relief. _**"Maybe he survived, I need to look for him,"**_ she thought as she stood up and when she was about to walk a flash of light caught her eyes. She walked towards it and was surprised to pick up her dagger, the same dagger that Kadaj and his brother use to torture her. The memory started to come back, she shook her head and as she gripped it hard and gestured to throw it away but she stopped and looked at it again.

"Why should I throw it, it was a gift from father," she said to herself.

She decided to keep it and look for its sheath around the area. Luckily she found it, the sheath is even in good shape with no sight of burning, even the dagger is still sharp and shining as ever. She sheathed it and put it inside her left boots. She looked around and started walking to look for her friend. After an hour and walking throughout the entire eastern and western forest, she did not find any trace of her friend. But she did find a huge red feather. It was a faint red glow to it and emitting low-heat.

_**"A Phoenix feather?"**_ she questioned herself as she examined it. "I thought Phoenix is just a myth," she murmured, but she remembered the fire Phoenix she summoned last night and decided to keep the feather for safekeeping. After hours of walking, she decided to go back home. She decided to walk through the forest again to avoid the people of the village but stop at the giant tree. She looked up to see that it was now burned to the ground.

"Be calm Astraea face your fears and don't let them win," she took a deep breath and started to sing. (Youtube: Kingdom Hearts III - Face My Fears (Mree Cover)). She was able to finish her song and just stood there for a while.

In the distance, a cloaked figure stepped forward but stopped when another sound was heard Astraea turned around and whipped out her dagger in an instant.

"Woah! Stop!" a male in about her age with long brown hair in a ponytail and wearing a cowboy hat said.

She was surprised to see him but she did not lower the dagger as she glared at him "What do you want!?"

"I was just walking around, I heard you singing" he replied. "Your Astraea right?" he smiled at her as he walked towards her.

"Yes," she replied and lowered her dagger for she remembered who he was, he was the top 3 of their class. "Your Irvine Kinneas right?"

"Yup, Are you okay? I heard screaming," he asked as he stopped one foot from her.

"Stop playing," she hissed. "Did Kadaj send you here?"

"No, I just want to see the entire island before we transfer to the mainland," he said, still smiling at her.

"Why are you here! Are you not afraid of me? you know what I did" she said stepping back.

"No, why should I be? It is not your fault, you are just protecting yourself."

"How did you know?"

"Well everybody on the entire island knows," he said. "The people ar-"

In his mild sentence, Astraea just shrugged her shoulders and went past him not allowing him to finish what he is going to say.

"Wait!" he called out.

Astraea stopped and glanced back at him.

"What they did was wrong so don't blame yourself," he said.

She looked at him wide-eyed as he started walking towards her. Without thinking, Astraea turned around and went running away from him. He called her out but she did not listen and kept on running.

**…**

At the Lumina residence. Aerith is busy packing their things while Zack went outside to the outdoor stone stove and started digging. He dug up a red sheath for a normal size sword from the ground and dusted it off and went inside. He placed the sword at the table where Cor was drinking his coffee.

"What this?" Cor asked as he unsheathed the sword.

"It's Astraea," Zack replied as he took a seat.

"Are you planning to give her that now?" Aerith asked as she took a seat beside him with two coffee mugs in hand.

"No, I'm just preparing for it. I will give it to her when she is ready" Zack said as he wrapped the sheath with a white cloth. "Can you pack this too, but don't let Astraea see it, I want to keep it a secret," he said as he handed it to her.

"Ok, then," Aerith took it and went into their bedroom to pack it.

Cor and Zack were just sipping their coffee in silence when Aerith returned and took a seat and started drinking her coffee too. A long silence befell around them as they continued to look at the clock waiting for Astraea to return. After a few more minutes of silence, Cor spoke.

"So are you not going to tell her about her dreams?"

"I don't think we should tell her that," Zack stopped and looked at the clock to turn to him.

"Why? do you think she had the right to know," Cor said as he leaned back in his chair straightening himself.

"Yes, but not right now, she still has a lot on her plate right now, I don't want to bother her anymore." Zack sighed as he looked at the clock again.

"Sooner or later you need to tell her, Maybe it will change her point of view about her ability," Cor continued.

"We will after the trial," Aerith said.

"Ok then, but do you think what happened here will affect her dreams?" Cor asked.

Zack was about to answer him when Astraea out of nowhere spoke behind them.

"What about dreams?" she asked.

They were surprised because they never heard the door open or felt her presence.

"How long have you been there?" Zack asked.

"Just a few seconds," she said as she walked towards the table and took a seat in the middle. She brought out the dagger and put it on the table. "I found it," Aerith saw her swollen knuckles and cuts in her hands and suddenly she grabbed it before Astraea could react.

"What did you do? you said you are just going to take a walk, why did you go there Astraea, are you okay?" Aerith asked as she examined her daughter's hands

"I just want to let my emotions out, it's just a few cuts, Mother, It will heal soon and yes I did go there I was just looking for Reno, did not find him but I stumble upon the dagger." Astraea pulled her hand from her mother's grip and hid it below the table.

"Are you sure you're okay Astraea?" Zack reached out to her and ruffled her hair a bit. "You know you can just throw that away, you do want those memories to come back and haunt you," Zack said as he reached for the dagger.

"No!" Astraea shouted as she reached for the dagger first and held it against her chest protectively. "It's your gift and besides I don't want all my hard work collecting those rubies to go to waste. I spent a lot of time on it and almost died a few times," she smiled as her father.

Zack just sighed and smiled at her "You always have a positive outlook in all things, huh Astraea,"

"Of course I got it from you, always keep positive even in troubled times,"

Zack just laughed and ruffled her hair more. This made her cry in protest as she tried to fix her hair in place. Cor and Aerith just smile while watching them.

"So what about my dreams? Why are you talking about it?" Astraea demeanor changed from cherry to serious in an instant as she put the dagger down at the table again.

The trio was surprised by the sudden change of her mood and looked at each other before looking back at her. Zack just took a deep breath and looked at her daughter's eyes and explained everything to her. He explained her dream is not just dreams but a vision. Visions of the future, the dreams about the war between the robots and humans dressed in black, is the very same war that the Kingdom is facing. The battle between the Empire Magitek infantry versus brave Kingsglaive. He explained her dream is a great help towards winning and defending the kingdom from the advancement of the Niflheim empire. Because of her visions, the kingdom of Lucis was able to take back their lands and win every battle for the past 8 years. They knew about that when her mother accidentally stumbled upon her dream journal 8 years ago since then her mother kept on looking at her dream journal for a new entry and gave the information to Crownguard to use in future battle. Her mother and Father both apologized to her for reading her dream journal and not telling her about it after their explanation, the room fell silent again and the only sound was the ticking clock. The trio just looked at Astraea who's head is now down. After a few Astraea hair started to blink erratically for black and red, red to black.

"Astraea? Are you okay?" Aerith asked as she brushed her hair.

"MY DREAM ARE WHAT NOW! She exclaimed as she stood up slammed her hands on the table as her hair and red turned bright red.

"Don't freak out Astraea, control your emotions," Zack said as he held her hands but he was surprised that her hand is not hot and she is not freaking out.

"I'm not freaking out, but you should have told me that ages ago," she said.

The trio just looked confused and looked at her and to each other.

"Why is that?" Cor asked.

"Because sometimes I will not write my dreams down. I thought there was just my wild imagination. I might help the kingdom more if I knew, I might sleep for a whole day so that I could dream about it more," she said as she sat down and her hair returned to normal.

Zack just laughed at her daughter's remark and ruffled her hair again "You just know about it and you're okay with it? I thought you would freak out and lose control again."

Astraea just smiled at him "Why should I freak out, I should be thankful that I'm able to help the kingdom just like you three, not just monster who destroyed things,"

"Sweetheart," Aerith softly said as she stood up and walked toward her and knelt down beside her. "You are not a monster and you were never were, you are our daughter and we love you," Aerith hugged her tightly.

"And besides your secret weapon, the Kingsglaive is now able to defeat the Niflheim infantry with ease because of your visions," Zack said.

"That right, Astraea," Cor said. "Your vision made it possible for us to get our lands back and defeat the Niflheim advancement and the King wanted to see you and personally thank you for your help,"

"Really? His majesty wants to meet me?"

"Of course," Cor smiled at her.

"So that why we are going to Insomnia tomorrow, what about what happens here, I did destroy half of the Island and I am ready for any punishment,"

The trio just sighed and looked at her while smiling.

"What? Why are you smiling?"

"Nothing, are you always this positive Astraea?" Cor asked her as he turned to Zack. "Are you sure she's not your real daughter? She has your positive attitude and she is always ready for everything,"

Zack just hugged her tightly and said. "Of course she is my daughter and she will live my legacy someday."

"Yes, your great legacy," Cor scoffed at him and continued "The number one hero who abandoned his duty."

Astraea wiggled against his Father's hug as he sat back again and she asked. "Why do you mean his legacy, what duty did he abandon?"

Cor looked at Zack who was shaking his head for him not to say anything. Cor just smirked at him and lowered his head toward Astraea and said. "Do you know your father lived in Insomnia in his teenage years and attended Lucis Regal Academy."

"No," she replied as she looked at her father who's now scratching the back of his head. "Tell me more please Marshal," she requested.

"Well, your father here were the top of his class back in the day and he graduated from being the valedictorian,"

"Really?" Astraea eyes widened, "I thought I got my brain from my mother,"

"Well that is not fair Astraea," Zack pouted his lips and crossed his arms.

Aerith just chuckled. "Well, you don't look the part, my Love, you look like a lost puppy when I saw you the first time, I did not expect that you were the top of your class, I thought you were joking when you said that."

"What! not you too Aerith!" Zack protested as his face turned into an ugly frown.

Aerith, Astraea, and Cor just laughed looking at his face and Marshal continued.

"The teachers were very proud of him after graduating he enter the Crownsguard with ease and one year of training he is promoted as commander,"

"Really why did you not tell me this, Why are you now just a hunter," Astraea asked her father.

But before Zack could answer, Cor continued his story, "He even got recognition and promotion from King himself, Zack should be the commander of the Crownsguards now but because of his action that did not happen"

"And why is that, come on Marshall please tell me?"

"Well, being the commander of the Crownsguard is a huge thing for his age, even though he possesses great fighting skill back then, the other older members of the Crownsguard want to test him, So the king sent him to a mission,"

"So what mission is that?"

"Well a mission to get some new information about the new monster the bestiary lists from the head of the Hunter Organization back then, It should be a fast transaction the mission will just take a day or two, But several days past he did not return, the Crownsguards was so worried about him and planned to send a search party for him but after a week he returned back at the capital and went straight to his majesty, after giving the list to the king, there and then he quit and left the capital to return to the hunter headquarters in Meldacio. After a year without any communication, I received a letter from him inviting me to attend his wedding."

"So you mean Father chose to be with my mother rather than becoming a commander of the Crownsguard?" She turned towards her parents to see them holding hands and smiling at each other.

"Yup, when I met your mother back then I fell in love with her and became a hunter so that I could get close to her and after a year of being hunting partners I asked her to marry me and she said yes," Zack said as he kissed Aerith on the cheek.

"Wow, Really what did you tell me about this Father? you always said the living in Insomnia is hectic and you don't want to go there,"

"Well, life there is fast-paced and very boring. After all, I was raised here in Galahd and just went to Insomnia because of the invasion. I did not even dream to be a Crownsguard. Leo here is the one who forced me to join the guard. I did train for one year and in those months I have forgotten how beautiful the outside world is. So when I went outside the wall I saw it again, the great landscape and the new adventures every day, I fell in love with it and especially with a beautiful maiden," he looked at Aerith. "So I decided to leave the Crown city and become a hunter and my life after that became more wonderful and exciting and you made it more complete Astraea," he smiled at his daughter and held her hands. "I will not change any of it and I am very proud of what I did."

The family just smiled and hugged each other, they stay like that for a few minutes when Marshal cough to get their attention,

"But you know you still can be a Crownsguard if you ask his Majesty," Cor said.

"Well I am good being a hunter, husband, and a father, so I will not change it for anything," Zack replied, smiling, "How about you Leo you're not seeing someone, you getting old now you should now settle in like me?"

"No," Cor replied in a flat tone. "My duty is for my King and the Crown,"

'What about me? Can I be a Crownsguard or even a Kingsglaive?" Astraea asked enthusiastically.

"Why would you want to become a Kingsglaive? It is very dangerous," her mother asked.

"Well, I want to save everyone I can, I want to protect you too," she replied.

"So then you must attend Lucis Regal Academy and finish at the top like me and show them the full power of the Fire Maiden," Zack said.

"Ok, I promise Father,"

Zack just hugged her tightly. He will protect his greatest achievement even if it is the last thing he will do. They spent the remaining time packing their things. Dinner came along they sat and ate in silence after dinner Astraea offered her bedroom to the Marshal and he accepted it for she wanted to sleep with her parents after all this is the last time they will spend the night here in Galahad. Before sleeping, Astraea went outside to see the stars. The stars that nights were shining and the moon was full. It gave the entire island a mysterious glow. But in the distance, a storm is brewing and ready to cast its darkness to Galahd. Astraea went inside when she heard her mother call her. After glancing back at the stars she felt an uneasy feeling but shrugged it off and went inside. They went to sleep past 10, Astraea sleeping peacefully in the middle of her parents. When the clock strikes 3 A.M, the piercing screams of their daughter woke them up. Both Aerith and Zack bolted up ready to comfort their daughter not knowing what danger lay ahead of them.

* * *

A/N: One of Astraea's talents is singing so just like the quote, I will put songs from anime and video games in the story if the story needs it.

THANK YOU! Hope you enjoy reading and have a wonderful day! ✩

Next chapter _The Fall of Galahd_


	6. Lumina's Family Profile

_**A/N: **_I want to tell Zack and Aerith backstory but it will make the story longer so I will just give a summary about their life before they adopted Astraea and small info about Astraea

* * *

Name: Zack Lumina

Age: 37

Occupation: Number 1 Hunter/Hero

Weapon: Buster sword

Backstory Summary:

Zack was born on M.E 712 and rise at Galahd, He was 14 when the Empire invaded the island. He was the only surviving member of the Lumina Family. The Lumina family is prominently composed of top hunters and was respected in Galahd. After the invasion, Zack when to Insomnia and attended Lucis Regal Academy graduate top of his class. He befriended Cor Leonis whos 1 year older than him and joins the Crowsguard upon his request. Because of his family background being a hunter. He excels in sword fighting and was promoted as commander at the age of 20. But he declined the promotion and decided to become a full-time hunter when he meets Aerith Auburnbrie on M.E 731. They were married on M.E 733, Two years after their marriage they found and adopted Astraea on M.E 735. And went back to Galahd, to start a new life and help his people to recover. As the story goes on he remains to be a hunter and something Dave will send hunting request for him to do. He is 37 old year as the story started.

He always has a positive attitude but some time is reckless and careless. The traits that Astraea inherited form him. He and Astraea are very close to each other. He always made jokes to help Astraea control her emotions. He is devoted to his work and becomes the number 1 Hunter in all of Lucis. But will always be there for his family especially for his daughter Astraea. He taught her everything he knew about being a hunter and keep her safe. He is a loving, caring, devoted, father and husband.

* * *

Name: Aerith Auburnbrie Lumina

Age: 37

Occupation: Number 2 Hunter

Weapon: Staff

Backstory Summary:

Aerith was born on M.E 712 and rise Meldacio Hunter HQ. she is the younger sister of Dave Auburnbrie. She spent her childhood attending a normal school and spend her early adult life being a hunter. She meets Zack Lumina when Zack went to get the new bestiary list form her mother Ezma Auburnbrie. They married after two years being hunting partners and become legendary Couple the number 1 and number 2 hunter in all of Lucis after they reach the final rank of being a hunter in their 20'. Aerith can't bear any child so after two years of trying they decided to just devote themselves to being a hunter but the Astral has answered their prayer, they found an abandoned baby and adopted it name her Astraea on M.E 735. They went back to Zack's birthplace to start a new life there. She sometimes still do hunting job but focus her attention to her daughter and become a full-time mother. She becomes a florist and raises flowers together with Astraea.

Aerith is an upbeat and joyful personality but it all changes when they had Astraea, now she is a fierce and overprotective mother that will do anything to keep her daughter safe. Many can overlook her calm demeanor but when she welds her staff and will become apparent why she is the number 2 hunter in all of Lucis.

* * *

Name: Astraea Lumina

Age: 14

Occupation: Student

Weapon: Dagger

Ability: Conjuring fire, visions, and accelerated healing

Birthday September 22, M.E 735

Backstory Summary:

Astraea is the adopted daughter of Zack and Aerith Lumina. They found her abandoned her in the Galdin Quay. Zack and Aerith decided to adopt her for they want to have a child of there own, but Aerith can't bear any children. Both Zack and Aerith prayed to the Astral that night in the Galdin Quay and the Astrals answer them but giving them Astraea. At an early age, Astraea already knew that is adopted but it did not stop her from loving her parents and becoming a true family. Her childhood is spent being taught by her father and mother in how to defend herself from beast and daemon. She attended a local school in Galahd, her elementary years have normal and happy she is very friendly and extroverted. But it all changes when she discovers her ability at the age of 11. She accidentally set the western forest on fire. After that event, all the people of Galahd fear her and won't let their children play with her. Because of that she becomes more cautious about her power and started to have anxiety and panic attacks. A group of boys bullied her non-stop for that reason she becomes introvert and keeps to herself.

Astraea can conjure fire out of thin air without any kind of catalyst and has accelerated healing. She always dreaming about a great city caught in flames but don't have an answer why. She was the ability to predict the future by dreaming it.

Astraea personality is a Choleric-Phlegmatic blend. She can switch to being calm to angry within seconds and vice-versa. Hate being ordered around and will not follow rules.

* * *

_**A/N**_

Now you know who is the Lumina Family at heart. Let now continue their journey and what fate lay ahead form them. But you readers all already know what going to happen next so I'm very very sorry for the next chapter. After all, what is an OC without a dark and troubled past?

Anime quote of the Chapter.

"_**If you turn your eyes away from sad things, they'll happen again one day. If you keep running away, you'll keep repeating the same mistakes. That's why you have to face the truth straight on." – **_Riki Naoe(Little buster)

Hope you enjoy this again and have a wonderful Day!


	7. Chapter 5

_**A/N:**_ Warning: Character death...sorry

* * *

**The Fall Of Galahd  
**_My honor, my dreams, they're yours now. -Zack Fair(Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII)_

* * *

_As the wind picked up it sent embers flying up in the air as the remaining houses are now up in flames as several Magitek soldiers started burning them to let the remaining villagers come out of hiding. The cries and screams of people can be heard all over the war-torn island. The flashing of lightning ran across the dark velvet sky illuminated the island below. There in the center of the village, a group of people is being corralled by Magitek soldiers. Their piercing and glowing red eyes illuminated their dark-green faces as they show no emotion whatsoever and stood perfectly still. A maiden dress in pink is shoved to the ground by a man wearing a metal armor with purple-magenta highlight. As the man raised his giant sword ready to strike the maiden. Suddenly an explosion stopped him and a scream can be heard, that's when a man with spiky black-haired came out from the burned forest with the buster sword at hand and ran across the battlefield to rescue his wife._

_"Aerith!" Zack shouted as he sliced a magitek axeman in half when it blocked his path._

_Zack is only several yards away from his wife. Slicing and destroying every magitek soldier blocking his way. His focus in his battle that he did not notice a magitek engine stopping and hovering above him. A piercing scream from Aerith caught his attention when he turned towards her. He saw the man in armor had cut her in the shoulder._

_"Aerith! stay away from her!" he shouted as he sprinted towards them. He stopped when suddenly the magitek engine blasted him with blinding light from above obstructing his sight. He covered his eyes with his glove hand that's when he heard several footsteps around him. When the light died down, he was now surrounded by Imperial troopers, their rifles aimed at him._

_"Zack Lumina if I am correct?" The man in armor said in a low menacing voice as he walked towards him the imperial troopers giving way._

_"General Glauca!" Zack hissed at him as he tightened his grip on his buster sword ready to attack._

_"So you knew about me, it's a great honor. You're a legend in the hunter association, your name is well known in Insomnia, but it is a shame it will all end here," General Glauca raised his left-hand signaling the troops to get ready to fire. Zack black clothes now illuminated by several red sight lights from the Imperial troopers and two from the imperial sniper riding the magitek engine from above. As a large thunderstruck the sea it started to rain. Zack just tightened his grip on his buster sword as he made his last stand. As General Glauca swung his hand down. The sound of several rifles being fired at once pierced the air. As Aerith shrieked her beloved husband's name._

_"ZACK!"_

**…**

The sound of the clock ticking is the only sound that can be heard inside the master bedroom as the family cuddle together sleeping peacefully. When the clock strikes 3 A.M the piercing scream of their daughter woke them up.

"NO!" Astraea bolted upright as she reached a hand in the air, her eyes started flickering brown to red and red to brown together with her hair. She could feel her heart beating rapidly as her body started to tremble in fear for what she saw in her dream.

"Astraea sweetheart, what is wrong?" Aerith softly said and she massaged her back gently.

Astraea turned to her. Her eyes started to water. She opened her mouth but her father's voice stopped her from speaking.

"Nightmare again kiddo? Don't worry we are here my little fire maiden, We won't let them hurt you," Zack cooed as he gently ruffled her hair.

"They are here…" she murmured as she breathed out heavily.

"They who?" Zack asked puzzled.

Astraea turned to him, panic flared in her eyes, she said in a low breaking voice, "Nif… Niflheim."

Both Zack and Aerith's faces turned pale as they heard her, but before they can utter another word, a huge explosion rocked the whole island awake.

Zack leaped out of bed and peeked out the window, There he saw a dozen magitek engines and three dreadnoughts. Setting the island on fire and firing their missiles at the mountains, forests, and rivers. Zack changed his clothes and grabbed his sword and sheathed it on his back and looked back at his wife and daughter. Aerith is too busy comforting Astraea as she now has a severe panic attack.

"Wait here,"

Before Aerith could say a word, Zack, when outside their room.

"Sh… It's alright, just breathe in and out, everything is going to be alright." Aerith whispered as Astraea cling to her with her shaking body.

A second later Zack came back"Leo is gone."

"What?" Aerith said as she helped Astraea up.

"Maybe he is already outside and helping the villagers, I need to help him," Zack said as he bent down to comfort Astraea who is still clinging to her mother and having difficulty breathing. He saw the fear in her eyes and her hair will not stop flickering. "It will be alright Astraea," he cooed as he brushed her tears away. "Aerith" he stood and looked at her. "Leo said he used a speedboat to get here, It's on the eastern dock. The empire has not reached it yet, go there and leave the island."

Aerith's eyes widened for a moment as she asked. "What about you?"

"The villagers need my help,"

"But.."

"No buts, Aerith you have to leave now, take her," Zack ordered.

Aerith's eyes narrowed as she nodded and Zack nodded back and brushed a hair away from her face. "Take care of her, we will meet up at Crown city," Zack kissed her on the forehead. "Take the sword with you, use it if you need to," Zack looked down at his daughter, whose breathing is now normalizing. He patted her head and smiled at her "It will be alright my little Fire Maiden, take care of your mother for me,"

Astraea suddenly gazed up, her eyes turned crimson and her hair black and she said in a shaking voice, "No, don't go," she hugged him tightly.

"I need to go, It's my duty after all," Zack said as he tried to pry Astraea hands away. He was able to wiggle out and started to walk away.

"No! Father!" Astraea followed her father at their front door.

Zack opened the door, looked back at his daughter and smiled one last time.

"Everything will be alright," Zack promised as he turned away and sprinted out the door. Astraea ran after him but her knees gave way and she stumbled on the floor. She reached a hand towards her father, her version being blurred by her tears as the door slowly closed behind Zack.

"Father please come BACK!" she shouted.

She stood up and twisted the doorknob when her mother stopped her.

"Don't follow your father Astraea, he knows what he is doing!" Aerith said. "Here wear this," she handed her red cloak. Astraea took it as she was only wearing a white plain dress, she tied the cloak around her neck with shaking hands. As her mother went back to their room to get something, seconds after Aerith returned to her carrying a duffle bag. Aerith knelt in front of her and put her hands to her shoulders and said in a calm voice.

"Sweetheart, pay attention, you need to do exactly what I say and If we get separated, you need to go to the eastern cave near the cliff. Stay there and don't come out until I or your father come and get you, ok?" she asked, her calm voice now shaking.

Astraea nodded as she brushed her tears away as her eyes returned being brown.

"Alright then let's go," Aerith said as she turned the doorknob.

"But father,"

"Your father will be alright, after all, he is the number 1 hunter," she opened the door and stepped out but looked back to see she did not move. "Astraea?"

Astraea's tears started to fall again as her body started to tremble. "But my vision, I saw him.." she could not finish and looked at her mother, her eyes full of fear and worry.

Aerith saw this she knew what exactly her daughter is trying to say. She dropped the duffle bag and hugged her.

"No, everything will be alright, Astraea, we are going to see your father again, and we will go hunting together," she said calmly.

Astraea stopped shaking and hugged her back. "Ok, Mother I trust you,"

Aerith looked at her and smiled, "Ok, Let's go!" she grabbed her daughter's right hand as they ran outside picking the duffle bag when they passed it. It's still dark outside the only light guiding them is the light from the huge raging fire in the main dock and missile light from the dreadnoughts who are still firing all around the island. They were only a few feet from their house when a rouge missile struck it. The missile decimated their home in an instant, they didn't have time to get away when the shockwave hit them sending them flying and rolling down the ground.

Astraea opened her eyes, blinking a few times to adjust her eyesight. She glanced down to see she has a few cuts but it started to heal, she stood up and searched for her mother. There she saw her mother a few feet away from her. Her mother's pink dress is now covered in ash and lying unconscious on her side as blood dripped down her back.

"Mother!" she screamed as she ran towards her kneeling down gently turning her over, her face turned pale when she saw in her mother's chest with a large wood splinter sticking out from the middle of her chest. Her eyes widened as her panic attack kicked in again.

"No!, it's not time to lose control Astra!" she said to herself as she shook her head.

She knew removing it would cause her mother to bleed out so she started to look for the duffle bag and after finding it she brought it to close to her mother. She opened it and saw a sword warp with white cloth and her dagger, she set it aside to look for something inside the bag. She gasped when she found it, a glass vial with green glowing liquid inside. She turned towards her mother again and gently and slowly removed the splinter, Aerith flinched a little after Astraea pop the cork of the bottle and pour the liquid in her mother's chest. After absorbing the liquid her mother's wound healed up as her body glowed green and Aerith gasped of air.

"Mother!" she exclaimed as she helped her to sit up.

"Astraea what happened?" she asked her as she looked behind her daughter. Her emerald eyes narrowed as she reached for her pocket and pulled out her collapsible staff, "Astraea!" she shouted. "Dock!" As she thrust her staff hitting the magitek assassins in the heart smashing its core. It stumbled down and disintegrated in a cloud of black smoke. Aerith quickly stood up as two more magitek assassins were running towards them. She was able to defeat them but got a few cuts and bruises. She quickly searched for her daughter and found her cowering, her trembling hands over in her head. Astraea glanced up, her eyes and hair flickering erratically.

"Are you alright?" she asked while panting.

Astraea nodded and stood up as her mother quickly grabbed the duffle bag again, "Are you able to run?"

"Yes," Astraea replied as she took a deep breath as her eyes and hair returned to normal color.

"Then let go!" she grabbed her hand and sprinted towards the eastern dock.

They ran for just a mile when Astraea knees gave way and she stumbled. Without thinking Aerith just scoop her up and carry her and started running again. They made their way in the eastern forest. Aerith ran as fast as she could not minding the pain from her cuts.

"Mother….slow down, we need to tend to your wound," Astraea whispered.

"I'm fine," she said.

When they reach an opening in the middle of the burnt forest where the giant tree is located. Aerith stumbled down for she did not see the root sticking out, they both rolled to the ground the duffle bag landing a few feet away from her Astraea.

"Astraea," her mother murmured.

"I'm alright mother," she said as she saw a shadow jump down from behind her mother. "Mother look out!" she screamed as she pulled out the sword as its handle is now sticking out the bag. She was able to pierce the Magitek swordsman right in the chest but missing the core by an inch. The swordsman held his sword up ready to streak.

"Don't you dare harm my mother!" She hissed, her hair turned blood red as her eyes glow crimson. Suddenly the blade of the sword burst into flames. Engulfing the Magitek swordsman it shrieked at it disintegrated in a cloud of black smoke. Astraea stepped back and looked at the sword after the flames died down. Her eyes widened to see what she holding a rapier just like her dagger, it has a slender crimson blade and the crossguard is an elaborated open-winged design has a loop knuckle guard shaped like a feather and has a circular sapphire in the center of the wing and has a sapphire sphere in the pommel and brown twisted grip. (Genesis Rhapsodos sword. I knew Genesis sword is a buster sword but its name is the Rapier, just imagine it as real rapier). She looked at it intently as her heart knows that it is not the first time she saw it. Then a vision came and she stumbled back while holding her head with her right hand.

_A man in his mid-twenties with black hair and brown eyes. Handle her a red ruby elaborated sword case. She happily accepted it and put it on the bed and slowly opened it, revealing a sword with a red sheath made out of leather with an embroidered red and blue phoenix feather in the center, she drew the blade carefully. It is the same rapier, the blade is slender and has pointed end and the length of the blade is 3 feet and sits perfectly in hand one. She gently gripped in with her left hand and made a slashing motion as she tests it._

_"It's perfect!" she declared as she looked at the man._

_The man just smiled at her and asked. "Are you going to name it?"_

_"Yes," she replied, her eyes sparkled with excitement, "Solis, The blade of the Sun!" she said as she ran her right index finger down the blade of the sword then she looked back at the man and smiled "Thank you….."_

The vision ended without her hearing the man's name. Astraea dropped the rapier as she grabbed her chest with both hands, as she felt a sharp pain in her heart.

"What...? Who are you?" she murmured to herself as she remembered the man in her vision. He seems familiar to her as if her heart knew who he is by her mind is saying different. She just stood there clutching her heart as she could not feel anything or heard anything as if time stood still.

"ASTRAEA!"

She snapped back into reality and as she heard her Mother's voice.

Her eyes narrowed as she saw a Magitek Swordman's swing its sword towards her, she quickly did a barrel roll, missing the sword by an inch but enough to cut her cloak in half. Without a second to lose she grabbed the rapier and slash it towards the knees of the Magitek Swordsman. It cut right clean though making the swordsman lose balance and fell to the ground. Before it can recover she thrust her blade on its core, her blade burst into flame and engulfed the core shattering it into pieces. She stood up as the Magitek Swordsman disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. That when she heard blades being stuck together. She turned around to see her mother fighting three Magitek Assassins at once. Rage seized her seeing her mother's body is now full of deep cuts. She tightened her grip on her rapier and dash towards her mother's side.

"Mother!" She shouted with gritted teeth, "Get Down!" her mother quickly docked as she raised the rapier in the air as flames ran across the entire blade. The magitek turned their attention toward her but before they could move an inch. Astraea swung the rapier towards them flames shot out from the blade and launched at them it disintegrated them in an instant. She stumbled forward as she felt her stamina draining away, lucky her mother was able to catch.

"Astraea!" Aerith shouted as she held her daughter close. "Are you alright?"

She glanced up to meet her mother's eyes and blinked a few times and she replied in a low and quavering voice. "Yes Mother, don't worry, I'm just tired," her head slumped down as the rapier slid off her grasp as her consciousness faded off.

"Astraea!" Aerith shouted as she gently laid down her daughter on the ground. She took in the sigh of relief to see her daughter is just asleep. But her relief vanished when she heard frantic footsteps moving towards them. She quickly gathered Astraea's rapier on the ground and put it inside the duffle bag again. She put the sling in her shoulder and ran back to her daughter. Crouching down she placed one arm around her back and the other arm around the bend in her knees. Aerith raised up but let out a gasp as her wounds started to open wide and start bleeding. With gritted teeth, she made a sprint and towards the western dock again.

…

Astraea could hear explosions as her consciousness faded in and out. She could feel the cold damp hard ground below on her back. Her eyes snapped open and bolted up. There she saw they made it to the eastern cave. She saw her mother, her back away from her as Aerith's body glowed green.

"Mother," she said in a low voice.

Aerith turned to her and immediately hugged her tight. "You're alright," she cried out. "You got me so worried," Astraea could feel her mother's tears rolling down her back.

"Sorry about that, I'm okay now mother, where is father?" she said while breaking the hug.

"I don't know, but I am sure he is okay," Aerith answered as she brushed her tears away.

"We need to help him!" she shouted as she tried to stand up but her knees gave way and she stumbled forward.

Aerith was able to catch her and said. "No, it is too dangerous to go outside."

"But father and the villagers they need our help,"

"Your right," Aerith looked at the opening of the cave and took a deep breath. "Astraea, listen," she looked at her. "I will go out but you need to stay here and be safe."

"But I want to help I come with yo-"

"JUST DO WHAT I'M SAYING!"

Astraea eyes widened as she looked at her mother. Aerith narrowed her emerald eyes at her. Astraea reluctantly nodded. "Okay mother, I will stay here," she hugged her. "But promise me you will be safe."

"I promise," Aerith stood up and pulled out some potions from the duffel bag and pocketed it. "Don't go outside and stay here," she ordered.

"Yes, mother,"

Aerith with a heavy heart walked towards the entrance of the cave and looked back to her daughter who's now hugging her knee close. "I will be back together with your father," and waved one last time as she made a run for it.

Minutes past Astraea is still hugging her knee tight as her panic attack went into overdrive. She could hear the explosion and the faint lights from the cave entrance. Another huge explosion outside rock the inside of the cave caused some of the stalactites to come crashing down. Astraea squeaked as she clenched her eyes shut and covered her ears with her hands. Her hair was now flickering non-stop as her whole body started to tremble, she tried to open her eyes but another explosion rocked the inside of the cave again. She closed her eyes again, that's when another vision came.

**…**

A strong wind picked up Aerith's hair slowly swaying with it as she knelt on the ground, she clasped hands together and as she prayed silently. A large shadow looming over from behind. General Glauca raised his sword up and brought it down impaling her in the chest her. Aerith collapsed into the ground as her hair ribbon unraveled.

…

"No!" Astraea screamed as she reached a hand towards the open air. Her breathing became heavy as she blinked several times. She clutched her chest as she normalized her breathing. "No, I need to save them!" she said to herself, suddenly she heard heavy footsteps in the entrance of the cave. She quickly grabbed the duffel back and hid behind a stalagmite. A thunder ran across the sky. It illuminated the cave entrance as a large shadow cast inside of the cave. An Armored Axeman stomped in the center of the cave as it surveyed the cave with its piercing red eyes. Astraea peaked a little to see the Armored Axeman just standing there.

"It's now or never Astra! you can do it!" she encouraged herself.

She slowly opened the duffel bag to grab the rapier and unsheath it and grasped it tightly with her left hand and the dagger with her right. She took a deep breath as she held the rapier in front of her face. She can still feel her body trembling and her hair and eyes flickering. "Face my fear!" she whispered as she closed her eyes when she opened it again is now crimson, her hair blood red. She screamed as she sprinted towards the Armored Axeman. The Armored Axeman turned around and sprinted towards her. She quickly threw a dagger and hit the axeman in the left shoulder; it did not stop and kept running towards her.

"FIRAGA!"

The dagger glowed red and burst into flame. The left arm of the axeman fell into the ground but the axeman did not stop and swung it ax towards her. She dock down and the ax missed her. She quickly slashed upward slicing the axeman mask in half and it stumbled backward. She regained her footing and thrust her rapier it hit the axeman in the center of the chest. Without wasting anything she drew her rapier again and thrust the axeman again and again in quick succession all over the body. She stabs it 8 times and it stumbled back, black liquid oozing from its wound. She thrust the rapier with all her might one last time on its core. The blade went through its body as the tip of the sword sticking out from behind, black liquid dripping off the tip of the blade to the ground. She drew the rapier back and did a back handspring as the axeman stumbled forward and came crashing down with a loud thud. The axeman disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.

Astraea took a deep breath and murmured, "I did it!"

She stood there in place for a minute to regain her strength, after a few more deep breaths she grabbed the dagger in the ground and went to the duffel bag and ramage inside. She was surprised she found a sword belt that can hold two blades at each side and a three-piece vial holder in the center of the belt. After all, had happened she did not notice that the sheath of the rapier is the same as her dagger. She smiled at it knowing that her father is the one who made it for her. She put the rapier in her right side and the dagger on her left side and put three potion vials. She inhaled and exhaled deeply as she tied her hair in a french braid. She stood up and tied her cloak properly.

"Wait for me Mother and Father I will save you!" she declared as she sprinted out the cave.

Outside the cave is chaos. Black thick smoke coming from all different directions as fire ravaged the remaining forest. The three dreadnoughts looming over the entire island, it kept launching their missiles towards the mountains and rivers and seaside. Astraea ran as fast as she could towards the village center where she knew they would be. She stopped when she heard screaming coming from the river. She had no time to investigate. She had to save her parents so she took a deep breath and ready to run again when she heard a female voice screaming. She hissed and ran towards the rivers where the scream is coming from. There are three Magitek assassins corralling a family. The father has a huge wound on his stomach and was protecting his family. One of the magitek assassins launched towards the father. The father just hugged his family.

"Fira!"

Suddenly a huge fireball engulfed the magitek assassin and it disintegrated in an instant. Astraea jumped down in front of the family and drew her rapier. The other two magitek launched at her, she quickly defeated them but earn some cuts and bruises. Then she turned towards the family she saw the father is now losing blood. She pulled out one of the potion vials and healed the father. She instructed them to go to the cave and stay there. They nod and after nodding back she went running again towards her destination. She is now in the western forest when a rogue missile hit the ground behind her. It sent her flying towards the large tree as she made contact, she gasped as the air escaped her lungs. She stumbled down making her drop the rapier. But before she could recover, a magitek axeman came out of nowhere and swung it ax down on her. She clenched her eyes shut and waited but nothing came when she opened her eyes. She was surprised to see the axeman on the ground as a large talon rift its core, it disintegrated in the air. She slowly stood up to see the creature who had rescued her. She blinked several times as she was now looking at an adult size Chocobo it chirped as it walked towards her it's red feathers blowing in the wind.

"It's you?" she murmured, the Chocobo is now standing in front of her. She reached a hand and ruffled its neck feather. It happily chirped and nuzzled its beak in her cheek.

"It really is you," she choked as she hugged the Chocobo.

"WOW! you got a lot bigger what happened to you?" she asked as if the Chocobo will reply.

The Chocobo just chirp, she stepped back to see the Chocobo full height. It towers over her, adult Chocono usually reaches 9 feet but the Chocobo standing in front of her is 12 feet. Its feather is now bright red just like her hair and marks on its cheek are still visibly visible. She noticed that he has a long three-tailed peacock feather and blue bright eyes. She was happy to see her friend again. But this happy reunion will have to wait. She has to save her parents. She quickly grabbed the rapier from the ground and sheathed it. She looked down and cursed as she noticed that the two remaining potions are now leaking. She just slumped her shoulders and threw the broken vials and turned at the Chocobo.

"So will you help me, Reno, we need t-" she yelped as the Chocobo did not let her finish as Chocobo head dove down between her legs and scooped her up and started running as fast as he could. She quickly straddled him properly and hugged its neck to stop her from falling. But she noticed that the Chocobo is running away from the center of the villager.

"STOP! Reno you're going the wrong way!" she shouted.

Reno did not listen and kept running.

"I order you to stop!"

Reno's marks on the cheek glowed red and he stopped abruptly and looked to her. His blue eyes narrowed at her as if he was angry at her.

Astraea gulped and said. "You will take me to my parents!"

Reno just chirped in annoyance and turned back and started running toward the village. Reno is now running about 40 km. Astraea keeps hugging him tightly but not too tight as Reno keeps waving past trees and rock. They exited the forest and was near one of the cliffs overlooking the sea. Astraea eyes widened to see the destruction of the entire island, it's now up in flames and up in the distance, she saw the village center.

"There it is!" she cried out.

Even in that distance, she saw a Magitek Engine being boarded by Kadaj's family and seconds later it flew away. They are now close to the village center when a dreadnought appeared out of nowhere behind them. It started firing its turrets at them. But Reno quickly and skillfully avoided each bullet with ease. She screamed as a few bullets passed overhead. She hissed and her crimson eyes narrowed at the dreadnought and drew her Rapier with her left hand and her right-hand grabbed Reno's crest. Reno cried out a bit but kept on running. She concentrate the heat from her hand transfer to the blade of the rapier making it glow blood red. She took a deep breath and swung the rapier in the direction of the dreadnought. Firebolts shot out from the blade and went straight toward the dreadnought. But before the firebolts hit the dreadnought is launched one last missile towards them, It hit the side of the rocky cliff. The cliff started to collapse as huge cracks started to appear below Reno's feet. Reno quickly bit Astraea's in the collar of her cloak then threw her into safety as the cliff collapsed and went straight down on the icing water below him with it. Astraea rolled to the ground and hit a hollow tree trunk. She cried in pain as her right shoulder has been dislocated. She sat up and held her dislocated shoulder with gritted teeth, she slowly stood up and walked slowly towards the cliff as she sheathed the rapier and carefully peaked below as rocks and soil crumbled beneath her feet and falling to the raging tides below. A huge explosion up into the sky caught her attention. She gazed up at it to see the dreadnought bursting into flames and went straight down to the raging sea. As the dreadnought impacted the water causing a massive wave it reached the cliff, the water arch and came crashing down on her. She had no time to step back, she got splashed with seawater. She hurriedly looked down again to search for Reno.

"Please please be okay" she whispered a minute past Reno is still nowhere in sight. "Come on Reno!," she shouted.

Right on queue Reno burst out of the water and chirped and shook his head and looked up to her.

"Thank the Astrals! You're alive!"

Reno chirped in replied

"Meet me in the village center," she shouted at him.

Before Reno could reply Astraea went into a full sprint towards the village center. She stopped and leaned on a rock as the pain in her shoulder intensified. She took a deep breath and popped it back into place she held her scream in. As the pain started to go away she tried moving her shoulder and hand. It is now healing, she is thankful that she is now able to grasp her dagger again and she put it back on its sheath. She thanks the Astral for giving her rapid healing. She is only a few yards away from the village center. She slowly walked towards it, leaned and peek behind the trees and saw few magitek soldiers corralling the villagers in the corner. She kept herself hidden as the Magitek engine shone a spotlight towards the top of the trees where she was hiding. Suddenly a hand reached out from behind her put a hand over her mouth and wrapped a hand across her body. She squeaked as she tried to break free but the hold on her is tight. She could hear the assailant grunted as she tried to kick her way out by the sound of the voice of a male assailant. He started to step back and drag her away. She keeps kicking and thrashing but no use whoever is holding her is keeping her in place. She took a deep breath and remembered her father's teaching. She slammed the top of her head towards the jaw of the assailant, he gasped and released her and able to elbow him in the stomach her assailant dropped down on his knees. She looked back but it was dark she could not see who he was so she quickly drew her dagger and thrust it toward her assailant.

"STOP ASTRAEA IT'S ME!"

She heard a familiar voice and stopped her hand in mid-air. The tip of the dagger is only mere inches away from the face of her assailant.

"Marshal?" she murmured.

As one the spotlight loomed over the top of trees it gave her enough light to see that it was really Marshal Cor Leonis.

"Oh, I'm very sorry I thought you're a Niflheim soldier," she said in a low voice.

"It's Okay, I should have said something," Cor said as he stood up and summoned his sword. "Are you okay?" he asked as he looked at her from head to toe.

Astraea stepped back to look down, to see her white dress is now black and torn into pieces and she doesn't even notice her cloak is now very short and shredded and up to her shoulder now.

"I'm okay, what about you Marshal?" she asked.

"I'm fine," he replied in a flat tone.

Suddenly they heard a familiar voice and they turned their attention toward the village center. Astraea eyes widened to see her mother being shoved down by a man wearing a metal armor with purple-magenta highlight. As her mother impacted the ground the potions she carried broke and started to pour into the ground. Her panic attack started to come back as she remembered this scene in her dream. Astraea felt her body tremble but she just ignored it narrowed her eyes towards the man in armor. Her eyes glow more crimson and her hair red. She about to run towards her mother but Cor grabbed her arm and yanked her down.

"What are you doing! I need to go there!" she hissed at him.

"You're not going there, stay here!" Cor said in husk tone.

"But my mother needs my help!" she stood up again.

"I know but we are outnumbered here, let's wait for back-up. I already called for help and the Kingsglaives are now coming here," Cor said, still holding her arm.

Astraea just looked at him even though she wanted to run towards her Mother but the Marshal is right it will be a huge problem if they can be caught too. She gritted her teeth as she crouched down next to him.

The man in armor crouched down toward Aerith and he lifted her chin using his right hand and asked in a low demanding voice

"Where is she?"

"What?" she choked.

"The girl with red hair, I know she's your daughter, where is she!" he said, his voice getting louder.

Astraea eyes suddenly turned back to brown her hair to black as her whole body trembled, her face turned pale and murmured, "It all my fault," her eyes started to water in the realization that she was the reason why they invaded.

"I don't have a daughter," Aerith replied loudly. "If I had one I would never give her to you," she barked.

The man in Armor just chuckled darkly Aerith's body stiffened hearing this.

Cor was to focus on watching and he did not notice that Astraea is now having a panic attack, her eyes and hair flickering.

"It's all my fault… all my fault…. It's all my fault," she mumbled as she hugged herself.

Cor hearing her shaky voice he looked down to see her body shaking badly. He was about to comfort her and he heard a slap, his head turn towards where the sound came from and saw Aerith on the ground blood dripping from her mouth as the Armored man backhanded her. The man stood up and drew his sword and ready to steak.

"Mother!" Astraea shouted as she started to run towards her.

But Cor was quick to his feet and without thinking, he grabbed Astraea hand and yanked her down towards his body and slammed the hilt of his katana on her stomach. Astraea let out a little whimper as she lost consciousness and slumped down on the Marshal body. Cor quickly removed his jacket and wrapped it around Astraea body and placed one arm around her back and the other arm around the bend in her knees. He looked at Aerith even in that distance and the smoke around their eyes met.

Aerith's mouth moved as she gazed at him pleadingly as she supported her weight using her elbows. Even without hearing the words. Cor knew what she was saying as she read her lips.

"Save her,"

Cor nodded at her and slowly stood. He started to back away; he stopped in his tracks as his eyes widened as the man in armor went behind Aerith drawing his sword upwards. Aerith just smiled sadly at him and she looked peaceful as she knelt and put her hand together and prayed. The man in armor brought his sword down towards Aerith it stopped midway when an explosion happened near them.

"STOP!" A male voice shouted.

Zack came out from the burned forest with Buster sword at hand and ran across the battlefield to rescue his wife.

"Aerith!" Zack shouted as he sliced a magitek axeman in half when it blocked him.

Zack is only several yards away from his wife. Slicing and destroying every magitek soldier's blocking his way. His focus in his battle that he did not notice a magitek engine stopped and hovered above him. A piercing scream from Aerith caught his attention when he turned towards her. He saw that the man in armor had cut her in the shoulder.

"Aerith! Stay away from her!" he shouted as he ran towards them. He stopped when suddenly the magitek engine blasted him with blinding light from above obstructing his sight. He covered his eyes with his glove hand when he heard several footsteps around him. When the light died down, he was now surrounded by Imperial troopers, their rifles aimed at him.

"Zack Lumina if I am correct?" The man in armor said in a low menacing voice as he walked toward him the imperial troopers giving way.

"General Glauca!" Zack hissed at him as he tightened his grip on his buster sword ready to attack.

"So you knew about me, it is a great honor. You're a legend in the hunter association, your name is well known in Insomnia, but it is a shame it will all end here," General Glauca raised his left-hand signaling the troops to get ready to fire. Zack black clothes now illuminated by several red sight lights from the Imperial troopers and two from the imperial sniper riding the magitek engine from above. As a large thunderstruck the sea it started to rain. Zack just tightened his grip on his buster sword as he made his last stand. As General Glauca swung his hand down. The sound of several rifles being fired at once pierced the air. As Aerith shrieked her beloved husband's name.

"ZACK!"

As the sound of the gunfire resonated around them. A few bullets hit his body he gasped and stumbled back. He gripped the hilt of the buster sword tighter as blood started to pour out from his bullet wound. He shouted as he raised the buster sword in the air and swung it towards the nearest imperial troopers. He killed him in an instant and he hissed as more bullets hit him again. Zack dropped to his knees but held his right-hand to support his weight. His version began to get blurred from the blood from the wound on his head. He stood up again even if his knees are now shaking violently his body riddled with bullets.

"How admirable, even if you know you can't win, you are still going to fight," General Glauca said. "Don't worry, I will make sure your wife will follow you soon," the General said as he turned his back and glanced back. "As for your daughter, we will find her eventually."

Zack's eyes narrowed at him. He tried to raise his buster swords but his wounds stopped him in doing so.

The General saw this and just chuckled darkly. "I will promise to take care of your daughter for you,"

Zack's rage overtook him he shouted as he raised his sword and launched at him. The General just sidestep as the hunter past him. He swung his massive sword toward Zack and slashed his back.

Zack winced at the pain and turned towards him again but met by the sounds of the guns being fired.

Cor was motionless as he witnessed his friend being barraged by bullets as the last bullet being fired filled the air around them. Aerith's voice was heard again.

"ZACK!"

Astraea eyes snapped wide open when she heard her mother's voice. She glanced towards the field and she was horrified to see her father falling down in his back, buster sword still in his right hand. Zack's body landed with a thud as his blood poured out and gathered below him as the rain washed away the blood on his face.

"FATHER!" Astraea shouted as she leaped out from Marshal's arms and sprinted towards her father, Cor did not follow her because he knew if he got caught or killed no one will know what happened here and he got to report back to his Highness the King.

General Glauca eyed her as she passed him.

"Father!" She knelt down beside him.

"Astraea," Zack slowly opened his eyes and saw the fear in her eyes.

"Don't move you be ok, I have a potion," she said in a panic voice as she looked down and to grab something from her belt her eyes widened to see that there was nothing there as she remembered that she had thrown the shattered potion away minutes ago. "NO!" she cried out.

"Astraea," Zack coughed hard and blood came out.

"Don't move or speak father!" she lay in her father's chest.

"What did I tell you," he said as he put his left hand to her head and patted it slowly. "Don't let fear overcome you and don't show your weakness"

Astraea sat up her tears falling to her father's face.

Zack wiped it using her bloodied glove. Astraea grabbed it and held it close to her cheeks as she continued to cry, her eyes and hair flickering non-stop.

"Show them your strength and don't let them control you," he stopped to breathe, "Go and live another day and by my living legacy. He smiled at her, Astraea did not smile back but continued to cry._ "My honor, my dreams, They're yours now, _let them guide you, my dear, daughter," Zack said as he slowly gathered his last strength and gave Astraea his buster sword she hesitantly accepted.

"Father please don't leave me!"

"Sorry, take care of your mother for me,"

"No!" she dropped the buster sword beside him and hugged him tightly.

"I'm sorry and Goodbye my little Fire Maiden," Zack said as his eyes closed slowly and his breathing stopped.

Astraea world stopped in an instant, she looked down to see her father's body. Her whole body went cold, her eyes and hair returned to its natural color as she cried out at the top of her lungs hugged her father. In that state of mind, she did not notice that General Glauca was already behind her and reached a hand towards her. She turned around as the General strong right-hand wrapped around her neck and lifted her up in the air. She kicks and thrashes in his arm. The general just chuckled darkly and said in a low menacing tone.

"So you are the one we have been looking for, they said you're a monster, maybe they are wrong, you're just helpless girl," Glauca laughed.

Astraea eyes narrowed at him even with the mask she knows he is smirking at her. She gripped the general fingers to pried it open but to no avail, he is stronger than her.

"Don't fight it, be a good girl and you will be treated like a princess," he said mockingly.

Astraea started to see black spots as her consciousness started to fade.

"ASTRAEA!"

Her eyes snapped back wide open when she heard her mother's voice. She quickly grabbed her dagger and thrust it towards him, she targeted the purple highlight below his neck. Her dagger went through his armor, he winced in pain and released his grip on her neck. She landed on her knees and she looked up General Glauca was able to draw her dagger from his neck.

"FIRAGA!" she shouted all her might.

The dagger burst into flames and exploded. General fell on his back as the smoke cleared Astraea saw the dagger on the ground. She quickly took it and was ready to stand by but she looked up and her face went pale. General Glauca was already on his feet again, his mask face mere inches away from her face. His armor is now scorched but not damaged. Before she could react the general punched her into the stomach and it knocked the wind out of her. The punch is so strong breaking a few of her ribs. She fell down on her knees and started coughing. She looked up in pain at him. The general stomped hard on her back and she fell flat on her face. It broke a few ribs again as she screamed in pain.

"Is that all you got little one, I told you to behave and no harm will come to you but look what you did!" General hissed at her, his heavy boots not leaving her back.

Astraea started to cry in pain. The Marshal saw enough of this and sprinted towards the two of them. He drew his Katana and slashed it towards General Glauca. Glauca quickly avoided his attack and jumped back. Cor knelt down and gathered Astraea carefully and let her lean on his body and he pointed his katana at the general.

"Cor the Immortal," Glauca said. "She must be very important that the King that he send you here,"

Cor did not reply to him and looked down at Astraea.

"Thank you, Marshal," she said in a low voice.

"You girl!" Glauca shouted.

Both Cor and Astraea turned to him, "Come with me and I will spare your mother!"

Aerith cries can be heard behind the Glauca. As the General stepped aside they saw Aerith was being held by two armored magitek soldiers. She was shoved down on the ground, her body was full of cuts and bruises.

"Mother!"

"Astraea, do not listen to him, just GO!"

"Don't listen to your mother," Glauca said. "Do you want to lose both of your parents, Child?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous.

Astraea hissed at him and stood up but Cor quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her back and as he stepped in front of her.

"She won't go with you" Cor finally spoke.

"Very well then, this is your punishment child!" Glauca declared.

Astraea eyes widened to see that the General went behind Aerith and drew his sword in the air. Astraea tried to walk past Cor but the Marshal just stopped her. Cor hissed under his breath, he wanted to help Aerith but it will be a bad decision it will send him into a disadvantage. Aerith with the last of her strength knelt down and gazed at her daughter and said.

"Just close your eyes, Astraea," her voice was full of sadness.

The scene in her dreams flashed before Astaea's eyes. When Glauca is about to bring the sword down, something snapped inside Astraea without warning a huge black flame burst out from her body attacking Glauca and the magitek soldiers. Glauca was able to jump out of the way as the black flames obliterated two magitek soldiers and the magitek soldiers and imperial troopers who are keeping the villager's hostage. The black flames followed Glauca everywhere as he tried to outrun it. Cor ran towards Aerith as she fell to the ground, he was able to catch her and looked back at Astraea. Astraea is standing still, her head bow as her hair turned blood red.

"General Glauca," she said in a low voice.

The General stopped jumping and turned to her. He was a hundred feet away from them.

"You want to know why they called me a monster?" she slowly turned to him, her eyes glowing crimson.

"Astraea," Aerith tried to stand up but her knees gave way and fell and leaned back to Cor.

"So you gonna show us your true strength," Glauca said as he waved his hand up. The two remaining dreadnoughts and the 12 magitek engine hovered behind him. The five magitek engines opened it's cargo bay doors as five dozen new magitek soldiers jumped down and landed. They march and line up behind him.

Astraea's body began to glow blood red as she radiated heat. She slowly walked towards her Father's buster sword and grabbed it and started to walk towards the General and Magitek soldiers dragging his father's buster sword behind her.

"Astraea, stop this," Cor lowered Aerith down and ran to her but stopped because the heat coming from her is unbearable.

"My mission is only to retrieve you alive," Glauca said as he did not move an inch even Astraea body is now engulfed in black flames. "KILL THE VILLAGERS!" he ordered.

The two dreadnoughts fired its missile towards the villagers, but before it hit them the black flames from Astraea body shot up and destroyed the missile in the air.

"Don't you dare harm them!" Astraea hissed as droplets of rain around her started to evaporate in mid-air and every step she took the wet ground beneath her feet dried up.

"What is happening to her," Cor whispered.

"I don't know but we have to stop her," Aerith said as she tried to walk to her daughter.

"Stay away mother," Astraea said as she glanced back, her eyes crimson and lack of any emotion. Suddenly Zack buster sword burst into flames, the black flames engulfed the whole sword giving it an ominous appearance. What she said next gave chills to both Aerith and Cor.

"Take cover," she said with a flat tone.

Aerith and Cor did what she said and instructed the villagers to do the same.

General Glauca drew his sword and sprinted towards her with the magitek soldiers behind him. Astraea eyes narrowed at them and she swung her father's buster sword using two hands at them. It's shot a gigantic black flame wall at them. Glauca saw this a jumped out the way. The black flame engulfed all the magitek soldiers and the dreadnoughts and magitek engine and exploded into a huge fiery ball blinding anyone who looks at it. It sent shockwaves across the entire island. The foundation of the houses was blown off and trees were uprooted and flew in the air and disintegrated. Screams and cries can be heard from the villagers who took shelter inside the huge fountain Cor and Aerith with them. Cor and Aerith shielded their eyes with their hands and as the blinding light started to fade off they saw Astraea unconscious in the ground her father buster sword beside her.

"Astraea!" Aerith ran towards her and scooped her up.

Cor went towards them but kept his sword ready in case.

"It's she okay?" Cor asked as he glanced down and as he walked in front of them.

"Yes, she is just unconscious," Aerith said and brought her daughter close to her body.

Cor surveyed the land in front of him where he saw Glauca and the imperial army stood. Smoke is everywhere obstructing his sight. As the sun started to rise. It rays pierce the thick smoke. A strong wind blew the smoke and it revealed a frightful sight nothing was left as the half on the island vanished.

Cor eyes widened to see the destructive power that Astraea had unleashed. Nothing was left, not a single metal from the magitek engines or even the ground the only thing he saw was vast empty water. As the once lush and bountiful island is nowhere to be seen leaving just a fraction of the entire island shaping the island into a crescent-shaped. Cor looked at the sleeping child, his eyes showed fear. He narrowed his eyes at her and tightened his grip on his sword. Aerith saw this and tightened her hug in fear of what the Marshal might do to her daughter after seeing what she can do.

Cor saw this and softened his eyes as his sword vanished in a flash of blue light and bent down.

"Don't worry, I will not hurt her Aerith," he reassured her.

Aerith just nodded at him that when they heard a magitek engine they turn towards it and saw a single magitek engine floating away from them it's bay doors open and saw General Glauca standing there half of his armor is burned and melted.

"This is not over! we will have her!" Glauca shouted as the bay door closed as the magitek engine floated away.

An hour past the flock of boats came from the horizon bringing backup.

"Woah! What happened here?" a heavy built Kingsglaive with brown hair in a ponytail said as the boat stopped. They disembarked the boat and walked towards the villagers. They saw only 50 plus people covered in ash sitting together around the fountain as bodies covered in white cloth near some of the families. All the people look exhausted and some are still trembling and crying.

"What happened here Marshal?" the Kingsglaive asked.

Cor who is comforting a few villagers look back at them. He saw about 12 Kingsglaives and 12 crownsguards.

"Niflheim," Cor replied as he stood and walked towards Aerith, two Kingsglaives followed him as the other tended the remaining villagers. Aerith is sitting on her knees, Astraea unconscious body laid across her legs using Marshal jacket as cover. Beside them is Zack's body covered with a white cloth.

"Did the Niflheim do this, I will never forgive them!" the other Kingsglaive with brown hair with blue eyes said while lowering his hood. The hood is customized with silver horns at each side and he has pelts of blue-gray fur on its left sleeve.

Aerith shifted and looked distressed as she saw the anger in the Kingsglaive eyes.

"General Glauca was here," Cor said while glancing down on Aerith.

"What! so he did this to the island!"

"Yes, Ulric," he turned to him. "They tested a new weapon and laid waste to the entire island,"

Aerith's eyes widened as he heard Cor lies but she looked down immediately when Ulric noticed her.

"Is she alright? what happened to her?" Ulric asked as he bent down.

"She lost consciousness when she saw Glauca killed her father," Aerith said as her tears started to fall.

"I'm sorry," Ulric whispered as he glanced toward the body of Zack. Aerith just nodded at him. Ulric stood up and said. "What kind of weapon did the Niflheim unleash? what weapon can destroy an entire island and the other smaller in just a small amount of time."

Both Cor's and Aerith's faces turned pale.

"Do you mean the other two islands are destroyed too?" Cor asked.

"Yes Marshal Leonis, all of the Galahd group of island is now gone with a trace,"

Cor shifted slightly and turned towards the two Kingsglaive.

"Ulric, Ostium can you please take care of this two,"

"Yes Sir," both Kingsglaive answered in unison.

"Your safe now Aerith, I need to tend the other villagers so if you excuse me."

"Thank you, Marshal,"

It took the whole day for the Kingsglaive and Crownsguard to tend and look for survivors. After making sure that everyone is now boarded they left the Island of Galahd with a heavy heart. They travel in silence as the boats past the other destroyed small group of islands. All the villagers arrived at the crown city and were greeted by the King himself. King Regis Lucis Caelum. He talked to the survivor and gave his deepest condolences and asked them to not say anything about what truly happened on the Island and what they saw in that nightmarish night. The survivors promised the King. After King Regis gave them his condolences. He ordered the Crownsguard to tend to the survivors give them a new settlement in the crown city and buried their dead and give them money and jobs to start over. Just a few families accepted to live in Crown City but some took the money and went out to live with their relatives outside the Insomnia. Except for Aerith and Astraea, they were transferred inside Citadel where King Regis's personal doctors and nurses tend the unconscious Astraea.

**…**

One week has passed..

Astraea shifted on her sleep.

Zack fell slowly, his body landed with a thud as his blood poured out and gathered below him as the rain washed away the blood on his face.

"Father!" Astraea bolted upward and started to have a panic attack as her hair and eyes flickering erratically while clutching bed sheets with trembling hands. She surveyed her surroundings, it came to her that she is in a hospital room. There are two side tables at each side of the hospital bed and a vacant chair on the right side of the bed.

She looked at her trembling hands and saw an IV needle on the top of her right hand that is connected to an IV bag. She took a deep breath and yanked it, she started to bleed but she didn't care. She swung her legs on the left side of the bed and jumped out of the bed. She lost her balance immediately and fell to the ground. She bit her lip to ease the pain. She promoted herself up using her trembling hand when the door opened revealing Aerith carrying a flower vase full of white Lilium. She dropped the vase when she saw Astraea on the ground.

"Astraea!" she shouted and ran towards her daughter.

"Mother, what happened where are we?" Astraea asked. Aerith scooped her up and laid her back in bed and took a seat next to her on the bed.

"Why did you do that! you even remove your IV that is so reckless of you!" Aerith shouted, her voice filled with anger.

Astraea could not reply as Aerith yanked her right arm to see where the IV needle was inserted to find it's still bleeding.

"See you still bleeding! you should have waited for me! why are doing this ASTRAEA!," Aerith said, still shouting. It alerted the nurses and doctors outside the room. The doctor ordered one of the nurses to get King Regis. Aerith wiped the blood off using the white bed sheet and saw the wound started to heal and she looked up to see Astraea eyes flickering as tears are now falling, her hand and body started to tremble. Aerith's eyes softened and her anger disappeared.

"I'm very sorry that I yield," she whispered as she hugged Astraea's trembling body.

"Its ok mother, I know you just worried about me" Astraea replied. "Father, where is he? Is he in the other room?" she asked her as she broke the embrace and looked directly at her mother's face.

Aerith's eyes widened. "Astraea your father," she could not finish her sentence as her tears started to fall. Astraea did not like her mother's reaction even though she knew what really happened she just wishes that it did not happen and it's all just a dream but it's not her father is now gone. She just lowered her head down and broke down her hair flickering erratically. Aerith just hugged her again and ran circles in her back to comfort her.

"Its okay Astraea just cry, I'm here I will never go away," she cooed.

Astraea cried at the top of her lungs and she grabbed her mother's clothes tightly. Five minutes past Astraea tears died down, her breathing started to normalize.

"Are you okay now sweetheart?"

Astraea nodded while still hugging her mother. Aerith broke the embrace and laid her back on the pillow.

"Just lay down Astraea, you still weak,"

"I'm okay now mother, you don 't have to worry," she replied. "So where are we?"

Aerith smiled at her and caressed the right side of her face and stood up to get some water from the bedside table. She poured a glass and handed it to Astraea. She took it and drank slowly.

"We inside the crown city Astraea," she took a seat again on the bed.

"What happened to Galahd? Did Cor defeat General Glauca?"

Aerith shifted on her seat. "Astraea, you don't remember what happened?" Aerith asked as she grabbed her right hand.

"I vaguely remembered when the Niflheim started attacking the island, father's last words and then nothing,"

Aerith sighed in relief for she does not want Astraea to remember what she did and the destruction of the entire island.

"Mother?"

"Yes, Cor defeated the Niflheim army together with the Kingsglaive. You lost consciousness after witnessing your father's death, sweetheart."

"Oh, so that what happened so where is the Marshal I want to take him for saving us,"

"He is not here at the moment, so you must be hungry, what do you want to eat?" Aerith asked as she stood up when the door opened and a man wearing a black suit with a black cape with a cane walked in followed by the Marshal together with a middle-aged man with a shaved head and blue eyes wearing some kind of black and gold uniform. Astraea turned her eyes towards the man with the cane. She estimated his age just like the man behind him, he is middle-aged, he has short black hair and a full beard and green eyes. She noticed the hornlike crown on the right side of his head.

Astraea chuckled a bit. "Mother who is he? he looks weird," she asked in a low voice. "He looks like a Spiracorn,"

The trio eyes widened together with Aerith for hearing what Astraea just said.

Without warning, Aerith whacked Astraea in the head using her knuckles.

"Astraea what did I tell you to stop giving people you just meet using funny nicknames,"

"Ouch that hurts mother," she said while rubbing her head.

The man with the cane chuckled earning a bewildered look from Aerith and Astraea.

"My apologies I should have introduced myself," the man with a cane said as he walked at the foot of the bed.

"You're Astraea Lumina right?"

Astraea just nodded.

"Please to meet you, Astraea. I'm King Regis Lucis Caelum and welcome to the crown city, Insomnia." Regis said with a warm and inviting voice as he smiled at her.

* * *

_**A/N:**_ I'm very very sorry! I did cry a lot when Zack died at the end of his game, but after watching Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete I feel relieved and happy that Aerith and Zack are together again. I hope they make a remake of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. I miss playing that game.

THANK YOU! Hope you enjoy reading and have a wonderful day!✩

Next chapter _The King and the Messenger_


	8. Chapter 6

A/N: I don't know if I'm portraying King Regis right, after all, he has a little amount of screen time on the game. But I did watch the Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV and the Kingsglaive movie. So I will try my best to portray him. There will be two guest characters appearing in this chapter, one will be a prominent character in the story. He is an OC but I will be just using the appearance of a final fantasy character, one of my favorite characters. Hope you enjoy it.

The King and the Messenger

"Hatred and sorrow are power. They are yours to control. All you have to do is turn them into strength and use it to move forward."-Sebastian Michaelis(Black Butler)

Astraea blinked several times letting the information sink, the room went silent for a few seconds, Astraea eyes widened in the realization of what she had done and her hands began to glow red as the color of her hair changed color.

"You're the what!?" Astraea bellowed as her hands burst into flames and set the bedsheet on fire.

"AHH!"Astraea leaped out of bed and tried putting out the fire with a pillow.

King Regis held his hand up suddenly the flames turned to ice. Astraea turned to him and bowed her head down.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorrryyy" she stammered as her hair started flickering and her body started shaking.

"Its okay little one, you don't have to apologize," Regis said as he stepped forward.

Astraea looked up her eyes flickering, King Regis saw this and gave her a warm smile. Her eyes stopped flickering together with her hair as she smiled nervously back at the King.

"You have us worried Astraea, you've been asleep for almost a week," Cor informed her as he walked beside her.

"Wait, what?" Astraea turned to her mother.

"Sorry I did not say anything, I know you're going to freak out," Aerith said as she put two hands on her shoulders.

"I'm okay Mother," she said and turned towards the King and bowed again. "I'm very sorry Your Majesty, I did not know who you are, this is the first time seeing you,"

"How can you not know who the King is?" The other man asked.

She turned to him and said, "Well, my parents are very protective of me and they never tell me anything about what is happening outside of Galahd and my father," she paused as her eyes started to water. "He never did tell me and show me a picture of the royal family or anything related to the crown city,"

"Zack Lumina did that? typical of him I thought he knew better, as a formal crownsguard."

She glared at him. "Yes my father did that," Astraea replied, her voice has a hint of anger to it. "So you are you?" she narrowed her eyes at him as it turned crimson.

The man shifted as he saw her crimson eyes but maintained his composure. "I'm Clarus Amicitia, The King's Shield."

"New to meet you Mr. Amicitia, but I would like to stop belittling my father," she said as her hair started to turn red, her voice getting louder as she continued. "I knew he abandoned his role as a crownsguard and became a hunter, but he never abandoned his people."

"I'm not implying anything," Clarus replied.

"But your words are saying different," she retorted.

Clarus took a step in front of her, he towered over her and glared down at her and she did not budge and glared back as the heat started to radiate from her.

"Woah!, Ok stop Astraea he's not picking a fight," Cor interrupted.

Astraea glanced at him and started to calm down her eyes returned to normal.

"Sorry," she blurted out as she crossed her arms.

Regis chuckled they all turned to him "You reminded me of someone little one,"

Astraea tilted her head, "Who is that, Your Majesty?"

"My wife, the late queen, she was always a hot-headed person but had a golden heart," Regis said, his voice has a hint of sadness to it.

"Oh.. I know it's late but I'm sorry about your loss, Your Majesty." she lowered her head down again.

"It's okay," Regis walked towards her and put his right hand on the top of her head. "I'm sorry about your father, I know it's very hard to accept it. Your father's death will not be in vain.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Astraea said, trying to fight back the tears. "I know my father's death was not in vain. He protected us and his people until his last breath and he died knowing he did his very best and I'm very proud of him,"

They all were surprised by her answer. Aerith tightened her hold on her daughter's shoulder while Regis drew his hand away and stepped back and Astraea continued. "We have lost Galahd to them but they never did take our spirit, we will raise up no, I will raise up and continue my father's mission. To protect and serve the people and the Kingdom of Lucis," Astraea took a knee and bowed her head. "Your Majesty I knew, I'm still a child but I would like to offer my service to you, I promise to protect our people and the Crown even if my life depended on it," she asserted.

"Astraea, you don't have to do that," Aerith said as she lowered herself and helped her to stand up.

"Your mother is right, little one," Regis said. "I would like to accept your service but you're still too young and you already suffer enough, for now, take a rest and enjoy what the crown city has to offer," he smiled at her.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," both Aerith and Astraea answer in unison as they bow their heads down.

"You're truly Zack's daughter," Clarus said.

"What does it mean Mr. Amicitia?" Astraea eyes narrowed at him again.

Clarus took a step back and held his hand up, "It's a compliment don't be angry, Zack is a very positive person and you inherited it from him,"

"Oh, thanks," Astraea murmured as she too embarrassed in how she acted toward the King's Shield. "By the way Your Majesty, may I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead little one,"

"Why are you all in black," she asked as she looked at them from head to toe.

"It's the crown city royal color, Astraea," Cor is the one who answered her.

"Really why black? it's very depressing and gloomy," she blurted out.

"ASTRAEA!" Aerith whacked Astraea on the top of her head using her right knuckle. "I'm very sorry Your Majesty, my daughter is very straightforward and she always speaks before thinking, please forgive her."

Regis chuckled and held a right hand up, "It's ok Aerith, It's very positive traits, I like that,"

"Really?" Astraea said in confusion.

"Yes, It means that you will always be honest and honesty is very crucial to me and you gain respect."

"Why thank you, Your Majesty, and speaking of honesty, I hate being order or following rules so I might give you some problems in the future," she declared as she smiled nonchalantly.

All of them went silent as they looked at her and suddenly King burst out laughing.

"Your Majesty are you okay?" Clarus asked as he stood behind the King.

"I'm okay Clarus, I haven't laughed this hard for a long time little one, Thank you,"

"You're welcome, Your Majesty," she smiled and bowed again.

"You must be exhausted, I will order the nurse to change your bedsheet so that you can rest, Thank you and nice meeting you Lady Astraea," Regis said as he held his right hand up to her.

She accepted it and shook it, "The pleasure is all mine, Your Majesty and please drop the lady part, it doesn't suit me," she remarked.

Her remarks earn another chuckle from Regis as he put his right hand on top of her head. "Rest now little one, your new life is ahead of you and if you want you can go and wander palace grounds. For now, the palace is now your home," Regis redrew his hand and started to walk towards the door.

"Thank you, King Regis," Astraea called out to him as the King exited the room together with his shield, leaving Marshal behind.

Went the door close behind the King, Cor took a deep breath of relief.

"Well, that went better than I thought," and turned towards the mother and daughter. He saw Astraea now sitting at the edge of the bed, her head slumped down, Aerith rubbing circles on her back.

"So Astraea are you hungry?" Cor asked.

Astraea looked at him and nodded.

"Ok, then I asked the nurse to bring you food if you want anything specific?" He asked as he wiped out his phone and started texting.

Astraea just shook her head in response.

"Ok then, Aerith I can speak with you in private,"

Aerith stood up, "I will just be outside Astraea,"

Astraea just nodded her head in response again. Aerith saw the sadness in her daughter's eyes, she gently hugged her, "Everything will be alright Astraea, I right here," she said softly.

"I know mother," Astraea replied with a flat tone.

With that, both of them went outside and closed the door behind them.

"So, did she remember the-" Cor said slowly as finding the right way to say it.

"No, she doesn't have any memory of it." Aerith blurted out, not waiting for Cor to finish.

Cor look at her bewildered, "What do you mean?"

"Astraea," Aerith took a seat on the waiting chair beside the door and looked at Cor, "She does not remember anything about the whole invasion just a snippet of it,"

"Well, the good we don't want her to be more anxious about her power,"

"So what the King verdict, does he still want her here after all that happened?"

"Yes, his Majesty is very adamant of letting both of you stay here, so don't worry Aerith," Cor reassured her and took a seat beside her. "I know you both will make it through it and especially her, she even went toe and toe with Clarus and she did not even budge if I were her shoes in the age I will cower in fear".

A warm smile ran across Aerith's face. "I know, Zack will be proud of her,"

"Yes, he would be," Cor murmured as he remembered Zack's last moment and looked down on the floor.

Silent filled the empty hallway when a nurse came out of the corner with a hospital cart. Together with two male nurses, a fresh bedsheet and blanket at hand.

"The food is here," Cor stood up and opened the door and went in, Aerith is behind him. When they went inside the room they saw Astraea have moved the chair beside the window and she was looking at the city below.

"Astraea food is here,"

Astraea just turned to her mother and started to walk towards the small dining table beside the door where they set up the food. She took a seat and started eating. The two male nurses started to change the burn bed sheet. One of them accidentally knocked the glass pitcher. It fell on the ground, the sound resonated in the small hospital room. Astraea eyes widened and she yelled out and hid below the table.

"Astraea!" Aerith cried out by the sudden reaction of her daughter. She and Cor bent down and looked under the table to find Astraea cowering, her whole body shaking as she covered her ears with her hands. Her eyes and hair flickering nonstop.

"Astraea sweetie, it okay please come out of there," Aerith whispered as she held out her hand.

Astraea slowly turned to her mother. Her tears streamed down her cheeks as she was about to reach her mother's hand, the door burst open and several men wearing crownsguard uniforms entered to see what was happening. With this Astraea, eyes widened and suddenly flames engulfed her body and set the table and the carpet on fire.

"Astraea!" Aerith screamed as the table burst into flame and started to burn the wall.

"No! stay away!," Astraea went hysterical "Stay away!, Stay away!"

Aerith can't go to where her daughter is cowering because the flames have now started to get bigger and hotter.

With second to lose Cor wiped out a vail bottle containing sleeping potion and threw it at the ground where Astraea was kneeling and hyperventilating. It broke on impact and Astraea unwillingly inhaled the vapor and fell asleep. Aerith was able to catch her as the flames around them die down.

"I'm very sorry, is she okay?" The nurse who knocked over the pitcher asked as he walked towards them.

"She okay," Aerith replied while cradling Astraea. She looked at Cor with a worried expression. As the nurse with crownsguard gathers around them.

…

Three days passed…..

Astraea woke up in a different hospital room and her mother was sleeping on the couch on the corner left side of the room. She slowly walked up to her and covered her mother with a blanket properly, Aerith felt it and bolted up.

"Astraea you're awake!"

"Yes, Mother sorry that I make you worried again," she said as she hugged her mother.

"It's okay my dear," Aerith whispered back.

"So what happened?"

"Astraea, sit down," Aerith patted the seat beside her. Astraea took a seat.

"You experienced a panic attack again,"

"Oh," Astraea eyes widened after she looked down. "I'm very sorry I thought I had control of my panic attack," she murmured.

"It's okay my dear, but your panic attack this time is stronger and you won't be able to control it,"

"Why is that? I'm able to control them back on Galahd," she turned towards her mother.

"Astraea you are now suffering from PTSD," Aerith said as she brushed Astraea bangs away and tucked in behind her ear.

Astraea did not answer as she looked down again.

"Don't worry, the King already sent someone that will help you recover from this," Aerith whispered as she hugged her.

"Ok mother,"

That afternoon a psychologist came to the room together with Cor and Dave. When Astraea saw her uncle she ran towards him and hugged him tightly.

"I'm very sorry for what had happened Astraea,"

Astraea did not reply and just let her tears fall after five minutes she calmed down and was asked to sit down on the bed as the psychologists started their session. Astraea asked her mother and uncle not to go outside and stay there and the psychologists let them. Aerith and Dave were sitting on the couch while Cor remained standing and leaning back on the wall beside the door.

The session started as the psychologist introduced herself, "Hello Lady Astraea my name is Quistis Trepe and here to help you," she held her hand up. Astraea gaze at her intently. Quistis has blue eyes and blond hair that is tied up and has two long fringes framing her face. Astraea did not take her hand and just looked down and started clasping and squeezing her hands together

"Is something wrong Lady Astraea?" Quistis asked as she took a seat on the chair beside the bed.

"Nothing," Astraea shook her head, "I'm just worried that I might hurt you, I can't control my flames right now,"

"Don't worry Lady Astraea I'm here to help you, After all, I'm the crown Prince personal psychologists."

"Thank you, but I don't want to impose but why are you helping me? Should you help the prince instead and please stop calling Lady, Astraea or Astra should be fine," she replied.

"It's okay la-" Quistis stopped as she saw Astraea's hands started to tremble. "Astraea," she said with softness in her voice, Astraea looked up to her as Quistis smiled at her. "I'm here to help after all the prince has already recovered from his ordeal so I can proudly say that I am good at my job," she reassured her as she put her hand over Astraea's trembling hands. "Let's start shall we?"

Astraea just nodded, The session starts with Quistis explaining to her about PTSD and how it affects her daily life and how she will have to deal with it. After explaining it to her, Quistis with a heavy heart asked Astraea if she could tell her about what happened, it's the proper procedure, after all. Astraea took a deep breath and gave her a summary of what she remembers that day. She said that she remembered meeting the Marshal and having dinner. She did not remember all the things they talked about but she knew that they were going to the Crown city on the morning of the next day. She remembered when the first bomb was dropped by the Niflheim and after that, it's all blurred. The only thing she remembered is her father's death by the hands of General Glauca and last words to her and then nothing. Quistis just listened in silence as she took down notes. Aerith trying her best not to cry as Dave and Cor stay silent.

"I know it is hard to remember this Astraea, but thank you for telling me," Quistis said as she held Astraea hand.

Astraea just tried to smile to stop her tears from falling but she did not do it very well as her tears started to fall down like a waterfall and her eyes and hair flickering. She broke down and cried as she covered her face with her hand. Aerith went to her side and comforted her.

"It's okay Astraea just let it out, it will help you recover," Quistis said as she put down her notes on the side table and reached out the patted Astraea on the back. Astraea started to calm down and her eyes and hair stopped changing color.

"I'm okay now, thank you, Mother, and thank you Ms. Trepe," she turned towards her and bowed her head down.

"You don't have to thank me just yet Astraea, we were just getting started and we have a long way to go. But please call me Quistis, after all, we are all friends here." she smiled at her brightly. Astraea smiled back at her and wiped away the remaining tears.

"So I have a few questions," Quistis asked as she glanced back at Cor and back to Astraea. "Your dreams I want to know about it,"

"What about it?" Astraea asked back.

"Well, you will suffer a lot more nightmare this time Astraea, I just want you to know that so you can be ready,"

"Oh, it's that so, Thank you for informing me, but I did not have a nightmare for the past few days. I just had the same old dream I had back on Galahd. The dream about the war between robots and men wearing black clothing," she said as she tried to remember it.

"Really can you tell me about it?" Quistis asked as she glanced towards a small mirror above the couch. Her gaze piercing the wall at the other side of the wall the King together with his shield is viewing and was listening to the whole time using a one-way mirror.

"Why those dreams don't affect me in any way, and I'm used to it?" Astraea tilted her head.

"Well, I want to know all about you so I can help you more," Quistis lied. She knew Astraea's ability to predict the future and by the looks of it Astraea had forgotten about what her father told her about her dream back on Galahd. Aerith has known this fact after she woke up and requested them not to reveal it to her, they comply. But they still need Astraea's dream so that the Kingsglaive can defeat the future attack. So they plan to let Quistis ask Astraea about her dream so that it will not be obvious.

"Here just write those dreams here Astraea, after all, you did it back on Galahad remember?" she handled her two notebooks one red and one blue. Both notebooks are hardbound and covered in leather, have a hundred leaves each. The front of each notebook has the is Lucis's royal emblem embroidered on it. "Starting right now I want you to write any dream you had, we will have this session every day so you can recover fast and live a new life."

"Ok then," Astraea replied and took the notebooks and lay it on the top of her legs. She ran her finger on the drawing and gaze at it with raised eyebrows.

"Is something wrong sweetie," Aerith finally spoke after a long silence.

Astraea glanced at her and back to the notebook. "Well for a Kingdom who is trying to save the world from an evil empire," she stopped and held the red notebook up "Their choice of an emblem is a bit weird and out of place. We are supposed to be the good guys right? So why is our royal emblem a skull? It's very depressing and not good as we preach peace." she said nonchalantly.

Silent field the air around a second later Quistis giggled a little.

"You truly a unique person Astraea, you can still smile even in the hardest of times."

Astraea finally smiled for the very first time, "That what my father always said to me, keep positive in dark times for it will help you go through with it," after she looked at her mother, "Sorry for making you worried Mother, I promise I will get better, you don't have to cry anymore. Father won't like that,". Aerith just smiled as a single teardrop rolled down her right cheek, Astraea brushed it away and hugged her.

"If you keep that up, you will recover in no time, Quistis said as she gathered her things. "That will be all for today Astraea, we will continue this tomorrow at the same time," She smiled at both Mother and Daughter, they smiled back.

"Thank you, Quistis,"

"You don't have to thank Aerith, this is a way for me to thank you for saving me back then, I am very sorry about Zack," Quistis stopped and looked at Astraea who started to doze off on Aerith's lap. "Let her sleep, just call for me if she experienced another panic attack," Aerith just nodded at her.

Quistis turn to Dave and back at the mother and daughter, "I will be going now,"

"Okay, see you tomorrow," Aerith whispered as she lay Astraea down gently.

Aerith walked Quistis to the door and she bid them goodbye once again. When Quistis left the room, Aerith walked back towards the bed and sat on the edge of the bed and gently brushing Astraea's bangs away as her brother started to walk towards them.

"She will be okay, Aerith," Dave said as he put two hands on her sister's shoulder.

"I know, I just want to take all of it away. She is still very young to experience something like this," she whispered.

"We can't do anything now after all this is the consequence of war. We just need to be here for her," Dave reassured her.

They both glanced back as Cor opened the door for the King and his shield.

"Your Majesty," They both greeted the King with a bow.

Regis held a hand toward them, "You don't have to be formal in front me, you have both helped me tremendously," Regis stopped at the foot of Astraea bed. He looked at the sleeping child and took a deep breath and looked at Aerith, "You will stay here until she recovers, just call Leonis if you need anything,"

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Aerith said.

The King bid his goodbye and they left with the Marshall.

Aerith and Dave both look at each other and back at Astraea who started murmuring at her sleep. Aerith took a deep breath and took a seat again on the bed and held her daughter's right hand tightly. While Dave went outside to get some food. That day Astraea woke up again and ate her meal and went back to sleep again. Quistis returned the day after and they went the whole process again and then counseling and after the session, Quistis handed Astraea a bottle of medication. The Marshal is present too, he took a seat on one of the chairs from the small dining table beside the door watching the whole session take place.

"What this?" Astraea asked while reading the content of the bottle.

"Antidepressant medication Astraea, it will help you control your emotions,"

"It said it helps me sleep and but it also said it will dull my emotions," she stated as she narrowed her eyes at the bottle.

"Yes, you need to control your emotions right now, after all, you're very vulnerable at the moment if I'm correct the way you control your ability is through your emotions, so we need to control it," Quistis replied.

Astraea just went silent and kept looking at the bottle.

"Astraea, why wrong?" Aerith asked while sitting beside her on the bed.

In the adjacent room behind the one-way mirror, the King and his Shield is watching them intently.

'I don't want it," Astraea murmured as she lowered her head down her jet black hair fell like a curtain at both sides of her face, hiding her expression.

"Sorry but you need it Astraea, it will help you contro-"

"I SAID I DON'T WANT IT!" Astraea shouted at her, "I can control my emotions all on my own!" she declared and she set the bottle on fire together with its contents.

"Astraea!" Aerith exclaimed and stood up and took the scorched medicine bottle from her and threw it outside the window. Aerith then turned her head toward her. Astraea just turned her face away from her but before Aerith opened her mouth Astraea was the first to speak.

"I just want to recover on my own, please don't let me take that" Astraea pleaded her voice is low and toneless.

"My dear," Aerith took a seat again and held Astraea's both hands together. Astraea turned her head to her direction, "If that's what you want," she whispered softly while tucking a loose hair behind her daughter's right ear. "We can do that, right Quistis?" Aerith glanced at the blonde seeking her approval.

Quistis brows drew together, she exhaled deeply and removed her eyeglasses and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You're just like him," she murmured.

"Like who?" Astraea turned at her with questionable eyes.

"No one," Quistis dismissed her first statement. "If that's what you want Astraea we can do that, but if you lose control again I have to make you take it, for your safety," Quistis stated as she put her eyeglasses back on and smiled brightly at her.

Astraea eyes twinkled and she returned the smile. "Thank you Quistis, I promise, I will won't lose control," she declared.

"I will be right here, all the way my dear," Aerith said as she hugged her daughter and Astraea hugged her back. Cor just sighed and looked at the one-way mirror.

In the viewing room, the King is just silently watching the event take place. While his shield Clarus took a deep breath and exhaled loudly.

"What is Clarus?" The King asked not taking his green eyes off Astraea.

"Are you sure you want her here, Your Majesty?"

"What kind of question is that Clarus," he turned to his shield who's sitting at his right side.

"I mean, she is a very dangerous Your Majesty, you saw what she did on Galahd, she is a danger to herself and to the people here on Citadel, especially to Your Majesty, maybe we need to transfer her to a safer location," Clarus suggested.

"I will not do that Clarus," Regis turned his gaze back to Astraea and who's now starting to eat her meal together with her mother, as both Cor and Quistis took their leave.

"But Your Majesty, as your shield I must protect you from all danger wherever is it from. So please transfer her to a safer place, away from you. We can transfer within the outskirts of the city near the wall where there is minimum damage and casualty if she loses control again like in Galahd," Clarus' voice is getting more persuasive.

"Are you scared of her Clarus?" Regis turned to him again as he lifted an eyebrow.

"No, I am not Your Majesty," The shield uttered, "I'm just doing my job," Clarus straightened his back as he retained his conviction.

"Well I'm doing my job too, Clarus, as your King I need to help those who are in need and protect them," Regis tightened his grip on his cane. "After all that little girl helped us all these past years, without her visions, the crown city might have fallen long ago." he reminded him as he stood up.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty," Clarus stood up and bowed his head. "I went overboard, I just worried about your safety,"

"You don't have to bow like that Clarus, after all, we're friends here," Regis put his right hand of his friend's shoulder Clarus stared at him, "As your friends please trust me on this, I need your support right now,"

"You always got my back Regis," Clarus smiled as the King returned it.

"Thank you," Regis patted him on the shoulder, "I remember Noctis did not take any kind of medication still he recovered, so I know she will do that too," his gaze turned back at Astraea who's trying to set the napkin on fire.

"Unlike your son, she is a ticking bomb who can go off any minute," Clarus stated as he narrowed his eyes at Astraea who's now panicking as the napkin she was playing a minute ago is now engulfed in flames but she was able to put it out immediately.

Regis smiled "Well that Cor's problem now, after all, he is her responsibility,"

Clarus let out a low chuckle. "You never did change Your Majesty, you still giving Clarus headache, no wonder the Prince is like that on his retainer, The prince inherited this side from you, Your Majesty, remember back then-"

Regis still smiled as he walked past his shield, "Enough about that, let's go we have a meeting with the council about the recent attack," Regis held the door open and looked back at Clarus.

Clarus just shook his head sighed, "You're trying to avoid it again, Regis," Clarus called out to the King, who exited the room.

…

One week past Astraea was true in her worlds, She did not have any panic attacked for the past days, even when her Uncle did try something stupid when they are having their session, Dave threw a dagger towards her to test if she will react violently. But she reacted calmly and was able to avoid it without any problem and she was able to throw it back to him, he merely avoided the dagger when it flew past his face lodged into the wooden wall. Astraea glared at him and her eyes turned crimson, but she quickly dismissed it and returned back to Quistis who was surprised at what had happened but continued their counseling. Starting the day Aerith forbade her brother to set foot on Astraea bedroom as he kept doing it again and again. Both Astraea and Quistis became so close that Quistis started calling her Astra.

"So Astra, can you share what you're feeling right now? Quistis asked her.

"Hatred and sorrow," Astraea replied with a flat tone.

"That two negative emotion Astra, you need to forget about that,"

"Not for me,"

Quistis stopped writing and looked at her.

Astraea notice this and smiled at her, "For me, hatred and sorrow is a good thing,"

"Why?"

Astraea took a deep breath and stated. "Hatred and sorrow are power. They are yours to control. All you have to do is turn them into strength and use it to move forward."

Quistis was speechless, the only thing she could reply is a nod back.

Quistis was impressed as Astraea is making so much progress just in one week but she is still very secluded and kept to herself. She only slept and ate her meals and answered a few questions when the doctors came and asked how she is doing. They are all worried about the way Astraea is acting but they can't do anything but stay with her. One week past again Quistis can't come because of a personal matter. So Astraea is free all day she went to sleep, Her mother too went to sleep but when Aerith woke up from her nap, she found Astraea bed empty, the palace went into a panic, they searched all the hospital wing but they did not find her. Cor has ordered a few Crownsguards to search palace ground. Aerith is now panicking as Astraea has been missing for almost half a day and nighttime has come and still, no one has seen her, The King has been informed of the situation and they gather at Astraea hospital room and the King ready to call the Kingsglaive. When the door opened Astraea went in with several books at hand.

"Astraea!" Aerith screamed and ran toward her and hugged her, this made Astrea drop all the books. "Where have you been?"

"At the library" she replied.

"What! you have been there all this time, you almost give me a heart attack!" her mother said as she stood up.

"Yup, after all-" Astraea turned to the King and greeted him with a bow, "The King said I can wander the Palace, I can't sleep all day anyway, I heard the nurses talking about how nice the Palace library is so I decided to go to it, I don't want to wake you up so I went alone."

"So you went and wandered the palace ground alone and found the library?"Clarus asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yup!" she replied happily, as she started to pick up the books on the floor. "Hey Marshal" she called off to him still picking up the books.

"Yes," Cor replied.

"The palace needs more Crownsguards or Palace guards patrolling it. I was able to go and wander around the Palace without anybody stopping me, it is not very safe. if I'm an assassin I could kill the King without any problem, I even went to the throne room with anybody seeing me, you're not doing your job properly," Astraea joked as she glanced up and was met by glare from her mother, the Marshall, and King's shield. Astraea gulped and dropped and books again. When Aerith raised her right hand ready to smack her in the head. Astraea sprinted towards the King and hid under his cape.

"Your Majesty please save me!" she said while laughing and hugging the King's waist.

Aerith, Cor, and Clarus's jaw dropped and was speechless.

"Astraea!" her mother was the first to react, her voice higher and angrier than usual.

Astraea quivered hearing her mother's angry voice and tightened her hug on the King's waist and hid. Aerith saw this and quickly softened her reaction and knelt down in front of her and King.

"Astraea my dear, I'm sorry please come out," she whispered.

Astraea slowly peeked behind the King. King Regis just stood motionless and put her right hand on top of Astraea head. Astraea looked up to see the smiling face of the King. Astraea felt something inside of her, she felt safe on the King's side, his warmth and presence seemed very familiar to her. Suddenly her eyes blurred as she clutched her head she felt a sharp throbbing pain in her head that forced her eyes to close shut.

When she opened her eyes again she was in a different room, standing on a white decorated hallway. She felt her body move but she was not doing it. Like she is looking at another person's point of view. The person started running throughout the hallway looking at each corner and rooms as she passed it as if the person is looking for someone. As she turned a corner she heard the person gasping as she saw two males. One wearing a blue robe and the other is wearing a white robe, they are walking at the end of the hallway their backs turned to her. The person called out a name but she could not hear it, she was still running towards them and she went about to reach the two, The one with the blue robe turned around. Astraea had a good look at him. The person has jet black short hair and blue eyes. The person went for a hug and the man hugged her back. She felt the warmth of his body, the person slowly closed her eyes.

Astraea eyes snapped back open and she was back at the hospital room. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest and her hands trembling still holding the King's clothes tightly. The sharp throbbing pain in her head returned again, this time making her dizzy. She collapsed and fell backward. Aerith gasped and tried to catch her but the King is quick to his feet and is able to catch her using his right hand. He let go of his cane to cradle Astraea fully with both arms. Cor and Clarus rush to the King's side.

"Your Majesty!" Clarus Exclaimed as he helped the King to remain standing as he was about to lose his balance.

"Astraea!" Aerith took her daughter from the King's arms.

"Here let me help you," Cor offered his hand towards Aerith."

They both carry Astraea towards the bed and lay her gently, Cor turned towards the King, who was a worried expression on his face as Clarus retrieved his cane.

Clarus handed the cane back to the King who accepted it and stood straight, "Call the doctor right now!" The King's voice was stern while looking at his shield. Clarus nodded and went outside the room. Regis slowly walked toward the side of the bed.

"Is she okay?" he questioned his voice full of concern.

"She just unconsciousness, Your Majesty," Aerith said as she glanced at the King.

"Good"

Within minutes Astraea personal doctor and nurses came and did a test on her and were waiting for the result to come back. The four adults waiting silently as the doctor and nurses do their thing. King Regis is sitting in the armchair beside the couch, while Aerith is walking back and front at foot Astraea hospital bed as the nurses work around her. Both the Marshall and King Shield is standing at either side of the King. One of the female nurses brought coffee for the King. Regis thank her and ask her just to leave on the coffee table in front of him. Both Clarus and Cor glanced at the King, Regis has a straight face but they can still see the worry and fear in King's eyes. Regis felt helpless just like back then when his son was attacked by a daemon. The memory of that night went back to him as he tightened his grip on his cane. His eyes fix on the unconscious girl on the bed. Regis felt a hand touch his shoulder and looked up to see the concerned face of Clarus.

"Your Majesty you seem tired, you must rest now,"

Regis shook his head, "No, I will wait until the result is out," The King replied as he returned his gaze towards Astraea.

"But-"

Regis held his hand to him. Clarus just sighed and backed off.

When the doctor came back he greeted the King with a bow. He told them that Astraea results are all fine and there is nothing to worry about. They sighed in relief but there is a lingering question why Astraea lost consciousness and Astraea is the only one who could answer the question. They waited for her to wake up, one hour past Quistis came and ran and burst through the door. She found the King sitting and sipping his coffee while Cor and Clarus took a seat on the couch. Aerith sitting on Astraea bedside. She greeted the King first with a bow and after went to Aerith.

"What happened? is she okay?"

"Yes, the doctors did not find anything wrong with her,"

Before Quistis could reply Astraea whimpered as her eyes opened slowly. Aerith helped her to sit up.

"Astraea sweetheart, are you okay?"

Astraea looked at her mother with heavy eyes and glanced around the room. She saw the worried face of the King, she turned towards the Marshal and Quistis who share the same look but when she glanced at King's Shield she was met by glaring eyes. She gulped and quickly looked down at her hands.

"Why is the King's Shield looking at me like that? Did I do something wrong?" she questioned herself that when she felt her mother's hands on her own.

"Astraea?"

"Yes.." she answered as she turned her head towards her.

"What happened you lost consciousness, my dear?" Aerith asked her and gently cupped her cheek with one hand.

Astraea just looked at her as she tried to remember what happened. She remembered the vision she saw. She opened her mouth to speak but closed it again. She decided not to tell them about the vision and lied. "I was hungry," she blurted out.

"What?" Aerith asked with raised eyebrows.

"I was hungry and tired after roaming the palace all day, that is the reason why I lost consciousness, mother." she smiled nervously at her.

"Are you sure? you're clutching your head before you los-" Before Aerith could finish her sentence a loud growling was heard coming from Astraea stomach. Astraea quickly clutched her stomach, she was relieved that her stomach did that at the right time and she returned her gaze towards her again and smiled."See, I told you I was just hungry." Aerith just smiled at her. "That good, you made us worry,"

Astraea felt bad lying to her mother and the King but something is telling her that she did the right thing. She did not notice that the King was already at her bedside. Regis reached out his hand and patted her head, she was surprised and jumped back and fell off the bed.

"Astraea!" Her mother exclaimed as she helped her stand up.

"I'm sorry little one did I frighten you?"

"No, Your Majesty" she stuttered. "You just surprised me," she bowed her head.

"That good, then, are you sure you're alright little one? The King asked again.

"Yes," she looked up and was met by a warm smile from the King. She returned the smile.

"Are you sure my dear?" Aerith asked as she sprung Astraea around to examine her body.

"Yes, mother, I fine,"

"Well that's good," Aerith said with a sweet voice when Astraea looked up to her, Aerith's eyes narrowed at her and then. WHACK! Aerith struck her in the top of her head with her knuckle. It is not that strong but the force made her fall towards the bed and landed on her face.

The people around them gasped and looked at them with widened eyes.

"What the hell did you think you're doing!" Aerith shouted. "You can just disappear like that Astraea!"

"But but" Astraea stammered as she climbed up the bed and bent her knee toward her chest while rubbing her head with her two hands. "The King said I can roam around the Palace"

"That does not mean you can go alone!"

"But... but.." Astraea stammered again.

"No buts! Do that again and I will tie you in this bed, you hear me, young lady!"

Astraea gulped "Yes, mother," she whimpered

"What I did not hear that!"

"Yes! Ma'am!" she straightened up and looked at her mother.

Quistis scooch over to Cor side and whispered "I forgot how scary can Aerith be,"

"You said it," Cor whispered back.

Clarus heard their exchange and cleared his throat loud enough for both mother and daughter to look at him. Aerith calmed down as she remembered that they are in the presence of the King, but once the King leaves she will release hell onto her daughter.

The King glanced back at him with raised eyebrows, Regis knew that Clarus was a serious man and did not like shenanigans and was always straight to the point kind of man. Regis just sighed and returned his focus on the mother and daughter.

"Your mother is right little,"

Astraea stared at him while wiping her tears

"If you want to roam around the palace, I can give you a personal attendant to guide to give you a tour of the palace,"

"Really?!" Astraea eyes gleamed with excitement.

"No, thank Your Majesty," Aerith contradicts as she glared at her daughter. "She won't be needing an attendant because she grounded for one week!"

"What!" Astraea bellowed as she stood up above the bed. "That's not fair, mother!" she looked at the King. "Your Majesty please tell my mother it is not fair and she can't do that!" she begged the King while looking at him with puppy eyes.

Regis chuckled "Even I'm King, I can't do that, you must follow your mother little one,"

Astraea lost all hope and slumped back onto the bed. "But I want to-"

Clarus walked forward and interjected her. "Look like she okay now, Your Majesty, it's already night time, you must rest,"

Regis was surprised by the sudden interruption of his shield, but Clarus was right as it was already night time he got meetings to attend tomorrow morning.

"I apologize, my shield is right, if you're okay now little one, I must take my leave now, I will order the kitchen staff to get you any food you want."

Astraea straightened up and hopped out of bed and bowed her head down. "Yes, Your Majesty, I'm totally fine and thank you for worrying about me,"

"Okay then, I will take my leave," Regis started to walk towards the door.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, I promise this won't happen again," Aerith said as she opened the door for the King.

"Rest well little one" Regis called out to Astraea before leaving.

When Aerith closed the door, all hell breaks loose again inside the room.

"Astraea come here!"

"No! Help me Quistis!

Regis and Clarus heard the muffled voices coming from the room. Regis chuckled a little and continued to walk away. They reached the King's Chamber and went inside. Regis went straight to his desk and took a seat and grabbed and examined the papers on his desk, while Clarus stood in front of his desk.

"If there's anything you want to say, say it now Clarus," Regis stated still looking down at the papers.

"Why are you so interested in that girl?

Regis glanced at him but did not speak.

"We still do not know where that girl came from, our only information about her is that the Lumina's found and adopted her. She is a huge risk, Your Majesty!" He stopped and waited for the King to reply but Regis stayed silent so he continued. "Not only that she reckless and does not follow any rules, and the way she hugs you is also unacceptable she does not know how to respect royalty,"

"Are you now done Clarus?" Regis asked him.

"Yes, Your Majesty,"

"For your first question, Yes, I am very interested in knowing her,"

"Why"

"Why? Why not? She is a very interesting girl, Clarus. And yes we don't know a lot about her and about her power but do you think it is much better to examine or study her up close." Regis said he propped his chin on his hands. "Yes, she reckless and does not follow any rules, she a teenager, all teenagers are like that, in fact, you like that when you're at her age,"

Clarus softened his demeanor. "No, I do not act that you're talking about yourself Regis," A smile ran across his face.

Regis chuckled and smiled at him. "It will be alright Clarus, I can feel that she will be a great help for us, trust me and learn to trust her,"

"Fine," Clarus sighed in defeat. "But if something happened don't blame me,"

"Thank you, Clarus," Regis smiled brightly at him. "You can leave now, Thank you,"

Clarus bowed down. "Call me if you need me My King, and have a pleasant night Your Majesty,"

"You too Clarus,"

Clarus went out and closed the door behind him, leaving the King alone in silence. Regis exhaled deeply and he leaned back in his chair.

"Your truly a considerable King," A male voice called out.

Regis straightened up and narrowed his eyes as it darts across the darkroom. He fixed his gaze towards a figure sitting in the armchair in his living room set in front of his desk.

"Yo!" The figure greeted him with a two-finger salute.

"Who are you? Show yourself!" Regis called out with authority.

The figure rose up and walked slowly towards him while lowering the hood of his black cloak as Regis stayed seated.

"It's an honor to finally meet you, King Regis Lucis Caelum," The figure stood in front of his desk.

With the light coming from the desk lamp Regis got a good look at him. The figure has unkempt red hair tied in a long ponytail and blue eyes. A pair of black goggles pushed up onto his forehead, he is wearing a black unbuttoned suit jacket, Regis noticed the two symmetrical red marks on his cheekbones.

"You're not human aren't you?"

"Yup, I'm impressed, but I should not be after all your a Caelum,"

" You're a messenger?"

"BINGO!"

"So what name should I call you and what business do you seek?"

"Well, my beloved master called me Reno, I'm here to talk about the Fire Maiden,"

"Astraea?" Regis raised his eyebrow.

"Yup, you want to know who she is right?"

"Yes,"

"Well then, do you have all night then? It will be a long story," Reno stated as he walked back on the living room set and took a seat on the armchair again. Regis followed him and took the opposite seat.

"Are you ready, King?" Regis just nodded.

"Well then, let's start our story with the Ancient Civilization your people called Solheim."

A/N: How is my story so far? It is okay? It is still a long way before the start of the story from the actual game but I promise the remaining chapters will be a pack of dreams or memories of who Astraea is. I love to skip it but I don't know how because I already have a list of chapters and have an idea how the story should flow, As I now I have 70 chapters listed.

Question: Do you think Astraea falls in the category Mary sue? I try not to take that path so I decided to have her slight mental illness, after all with all the horror of war a person should be affected by it. I got this idea from one of my favorite cartoon Voltron: Legendary Defender, Takashi "Shiro" Shirogane has PTSD and it helps his character to be more relatable. So what are your thoughts about it?

THANK YOU! Hope you enjoy this and have a wonderful Day!✩

Next chapter The new prophecy and the forgotten bond


	9. Chapter 7

**The New Prophecy And The Forgotten Bond**  
_"Things fade in time as do many things in this world. But there are some things that we cannot let disappear." -Lucrecia Crescent (Final Fantasy VII Dirge of Cerberus)._

* * *

Three days after the King met Reno the Messenger and revelation he had heard, he barely came out of his chamber and he was only seen when there was an important meeting. Clarus his shield was worried for his friend and went to visit him. He knocked on the door of the King's chambers three times.

"Your Majesty, Clarus here, may I can in?

"Yes, come in," Regis answered in a low voice.

Clarus greeted the King with the bow. Regis greeted him back with a nod while sitting on his desk. Clarus saw the bags under his eyes and questioned him.

"Are you okay Your Majesty? You seem very stressed lately."

The king just glanced at him and returned his attention to the paper in front of him.

"Regis, please tell me what is happening to you," Clarus asked, his voice full of concern.

"I'm fine Clarus," Regis stood up and walked slowly towards him. The monarch put his sturdy hand on his shield shoulder for support as he passed him.

"Are you really okay?"

"Yes Clarus, you don't have to worry. I just have a lot of things on my mind right now," Regis said as he smiled sincerely at him. "So what is our agenda for today?" he asked as he started to walk away from him.

"You have a meeting with the council, they what to know about the girl,"

"Astraea?" What about her?" Regis stopped and turned to him.

"They want to know why you're keeping her here, they heard about what happened in one room of the medical Wing, and they saw the report about the attack on Galahad."

"Who gave them the report?" Regis asked, his voice had anger to it.

"Drautos, Your Majesty,"

Regis sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I told him not to release that report just yet,"

"Do you want me to summon him, Your Majesty?"

"Yes, call him immediately and summon Marshal Leonis as well and cancel the council meeting, we will have the meeting after I talk to Drautos."

"Understood," Clarus answered with a bow.

After Clarus left his chambers, Regis slumped down in one armchair. He took a deep breath and covered his face with his hands as he rubbed his eyes gently. As he remembered the night that changed everything. Reno's revelation about Astraea and where her ability came from and the new prophecy. Still, bother him as Reno's voice still echoed through his head.

**"When darkness veils the world, The Flame, and the Light will be called once more. The bond that was forgotten will be one and the call of the Astrals shall be heard."**

Regis did not believe and was skeptical at first at the Messenger, But when Reno's started to reveal to him everything as sincerely as he could. The messenger gained his trust and he listened to him all night long. The revelation shocked him to his core. He could not believe it and didn't want to believe that the history that was told by his forefathers is a lie. He remembered questioning the history of The Kingdom of Lucis when he was young. Because there are little or no real records about it and no one really knew the truth in how the Kingdom of Lucis came to be and the founder King's existence is all shrouded in mystery. The new prophecy and Reno's revelation gave light to these questions and now was answered. It greatly affected him that he is not able to sleep well for the past three days. It's not the new prophecy that bothers with so much but the truth behind Astraea's existence. Reno told him every last detail of who Astraea really is and his relation to her.

"Astraea…" Regis whispered her name as he remembered the first time they met.

"Having difficulty accepting it, King?" Reno asked as he suddenly appeared behind him in a flash of red light.

Regis turned to him, "It's not that easy to accept, Messenger," Regis replied with a distressed expression.

"I know what you mean, after all, my story is not convincing right?" Reno said as he walked towards the armchair and took a seat in front of the king, he crossed his leg and prompted his hand on the arm of the chair and rested his chin on his right knuckles as he gazed at the King's emerald eyes.

Regis sat up straight and looked at him, "No, I believe you, Messenger, It just …" Regis paused finding the right word to say.

"Unbelievable? Overwhelming?" Reno stated, "I know it's hard to accept but you need to accept it after you are the King," Reno smiled at him.

Regis did not reply but kept on looking at Reno as he remembered their conversion that fateful night.

_**~Flashback~**_

_"So you're saying that Astraea will help my son to vanquish the darkness, and he will not have to sacrifice himself and she is my-" Regis trailed off._

_"Yup," Reno did not let Regis finish his sentence as he took an apple from the coffee table and took a bite._

_"But what about the prophecy that the Ruler of Yoke told me about my son,"_

_"Yeah, about that…your son is still the destined King of Light but he can't vanquish the darkness alone, he needs the help of the warriors of light."_

_"The warriors of Light?"_

_Reno just finished eating the apple and set pit on fire, "Yup, the champion of the Astrals, but you don't have to worry about that, just focus your attention towards your son and Astraea."_

_"Is there anything you want me to do?" Regis asked._

_Reno swallowed the lump on his throat "Yes, The safety of the Fire Maiden, Astraea lost her memory of her true past and she needs to recover and it will be difficult for her if her existence will be known." Reno paused and looked at the fire in the fireplace. "The darkness happened to hate her and will do everything it can to kill her, I will not let that happen," Reno said "Not again….." he whispered._

_Regis heard the last words but did not give any comment "Okay then Messenger, How will we restore Astraea memory?" Regis asked again._

_"Don't be so eager Your Majesty, it's too early for that,"_

_"My apology,"_

_"It's okay, just promise one thing please help me protect her,"_

_"I promise Messenger,"_

_"Well then, it's already too late, I'm going then, Your Majesty," Reno stood up. "Good night, King,"_

_Before Regis could reply Reno disappeared in a flash of red light._

**~E_nd of Flashback~_**

"Is something on my face Your majesty?"

Reno's voice snapped Regis in his trance, "No, I just remembering the things you told me, I still can't believe that astraea went through all of that"

Reno's face turned into a frown and looked away from the king, "I know, Astraea seems to be a happy and easy-going kid. Anyone will not have guessed that fate has been cruel to her and to her family."

"Our Family," Regis interjected.

Reno turned to him and smiled, "Yes, our Family…"

**…**

After 30 minutes of silence and contemplating between the two. Regis opened his mouth to say something but he stopped when he heard a knock on the door.

"Who is it,?" Regis asked as he turned towards the door.

"Clarus, Your Majesty,"

"Come in," Regis stood up and looked at Reno but he had already disappeared from his seat.

Clarus entered the room with more people. They stood in front of the King's desk Drautos Titus the captain of the Kingsglaive stood on the left side of Clarus while Cor leader of the Crownsguard is on his right as the King took a seat.

The monarch stared intently at the captain of the Kingsglaive. This made Drautos Titus shifted his weight from one foot to the other and placed his hands on his back.

"You summon me, Your Majesty?"

"Yes, Clarus told me that you gave the council members the report of what happened in Galahd," Regis's voice was stern as he kept staring at the captain.

Both Leonis and Clarus shifted their eyes to take a glance at each other, this is the first time they saw the King like this. Regis has always been very friendly towards his people, But now they can sense the anger of the King's eyes and voice.

"Yes, I did, Your Majesty," Drautos answered. "After Cor arrived with the survivors from Galahd, he told me everything about what happened, I made a report about it, but I forgot about your order not to release it," he stopped to breathe and continued. "The council has been very vocal, they want to know what happened so I submitted the report to them. I apologize for what I did, Your Majesty," he ended with a bow.

Regis's anger started to disappear as he propped his chin on his intertwined hands. "It's okay Drautos, you're just doing your job, but promise me, any problems or information regarding Astraea you need to go to me first before going to the council," Regis turned his gaze towards the other two. "Same goes for you two,"

Cor and Clarus strengthen up, "Yes, Your Majesty," both of them answer in unison.

"And Drautos," Regis returned his attention to him again. "Does any of the glaive know about Astraea?"

"No, Your Majesty, I have not briefed them about her yet. But some glaives are looking for answers as half of them are from Galahad. Should I tell them the truth about what really happened and the girl's connection to it?"

"No, don't tell them, Tell them that Island was destroyed by the new weapon created by Niflheim,"

"But why You-" Drautos stopped as the King glared at him again. He was confused about why the King was acting towards him like this but stood his ground. "Your Majesty, your people need to know the truth, This girl Astraea we need to conduct some tests, the medical lad is ready. We need to know where her power comes from."

"WE WILL NOT DO SUCH THING!" Regis shouted as he slammed his hand on his desk and stood up.

The trio backed away and stared at the King.

The monarch saw the confused and shocked expressions on their faces. He quickly softens his expression and slowly sat down again.

"Sorry," Regis said as he lowered his gaze to his trembling hands. "Astraea made an impression on me, she is a great and lovely kid. Her father's death and the destruction of her hometown had greatly affected her. I don't want her to suffer anymore, I want her to live as a normal teenager for once away from the war, where she can be safe,"

The trio went silent as they looked at their King. Regis took a deep breath and turned to Cor.

"How is she doing Cor?"

"She is fine, Your Majesty," Cor replied, " But she is now confined to her room, her mother did ground her for a week."

"That's good to hear, give them everything they need, as for today you are now Astraea guardian,"

Cor eyes widened but he quickly put his right fist in the chest and bowed down. "Yes, Your Majesty,"

"I know my action is very confusing right now, but please Clarus, Cor, and Drautos," Regis whispered. "Do what I say, for now, I will explain everything went the time is right,"

"We will always follow your command, Your Majesty," Clarus stated. "We know you're doing this for the good of the kingdom,"

"Thank you Clarus," Regis turned to his shield, Clarus just nodded back.

"What about the council, they already knew about her?" Cor asked.

"Don't worry I will talk with the council, but make sure no one with known about Astraea, keep her existence in dark outside the Citadel until I say so,"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The trio answered in unison.

"Good, you can go now," Regis stated.

The trio bowed down, Cor and Drautos exited the room while Clarus remained.

"Your Majesty, do I need to worry about what is happening to you?" Clarus asked his friend with a worried voice.

"No, I'm okay Clarus, you don't have to worry," Regis replied as he stood up. "Let go of the meeting, they are waiting for us," The King started to walk towards the door.

"Okay then, but remember I'm always right here Regis,"

The monarch stopped looking back at his shield and he gave a warm smile.

"Thank you, Clarus,"

"You're always welcome Regis,"

Clarus opened the door for the King and they went together to the council room. When they arrived at King Regis wasted no time explaining to them about Astraea, why she is being kept inside the Citadel, he was revealed to them about Astraea's ability to see the future. That the girl has been helping them in the past six years, the reason why the Kingdom remains strong against the empire.

"That great in all Your Majesty, but what about her ability, where does it come from?" one of the council members asked.

"We are still trying to figure it out," Regis answered back.

"So what is your plan, Your Majesty?" A female member asked. "I heard she unstable and her being here can pose a great danger to our lives and to the crown itself,"

"Don't worry about her, we have been helping her control her power and she is doing well, she is not a threat anymore I can assure you that."

"If that is your verdict, Your Majesty, that whole council will follow,"

All the members of the council bowed to the king.

"Thank you," Regis thanks them as he made eye contact with each member.

The meeting ended and the council members started to stand up but Regis stopped them. "Before you go I have something I want to do, I need the whole council's approval,"

The members turned to the King as the King made a request. After the council meeting, He ordered Clarus to do something and left him to wander the halls of the Citadel alone. He walked slowly towards his chambers when he felt a person walking beside him.

"Lady?" Reno snorted. "She will not like that, Astraea does not like titles,"

Regis stopped and turned to him, he noticed that Reno's outfit changed and he is now wearing council members robe.

"I just think is suite her after she -"

Reno's cut him off with a laughed, "I would like to see her face when will tell her that she now Lady Astraea Lumina,"

"Then go to her, I will visit her this afternoon, If you want you can come with me,"

"Nah, it is too early for that," Reno said as he scratched his nose, "I will protect her from the shadow, for now, I want her to have a normal life, she might remember me if she saw me and it's now the right time, so please, Your Majesty give her the life she deserved."

"I promise, as King,"

"Ok, then good luck, Your Majesty," Reno bowed down and disappeared in a flash of red light, leaving a single red feather floating in the wind.

It landed in Regis's open palm, he looked at it intently. "So it's really true," he thought.

"Your Majesty," Clarus called out to him as he walked from the end of the hallway.

Regis quickly put the feather in his front pocket and turned to his shield.

"Everything is set," Clarus stopped in front of him.

"Thank you Clarus, Well then let's go and talk to Lady Astraea," Regis said as he walked past Clarus.

"You still have to tell me why you're doing this Regis,"

"In due time my friend,"

In Astraea's hospital room, She is busy writing her dream in the notebook when two palace guards entered and greeted her with a bow. Both Astraea and her mother were confused about what was happening. They were asked to pack up their belongings for they will be transferred to another room.

"What is happening, Where are we going?" Astraea asked her mother as they walked side by side.

"I don't know,"

The Palace guards guided them to the next building to the living quarters. There they saw the King with his shield and the Marshal standing in front of a huge black and gold double door.

"Your Majesty!" Astraea exclaimed as she started to run towards the monarch and about to hug him.

Aerith grabbed the collar of her blouse and yanked her back, "What did I say Astraea,"

"Oh, sorry I forgot," Astraea said while being held up.

"Manners Astraea manners," Aerith stated as she slowly put her down.

Astraea straighten up and dusted her skirt, "Good Morning Your Majesty," she did small curtsy as she greeted the King then she turned towards the King's shield and the Marshal, "Good morning to you too, Sir Amicitia and Sir Leonis," she curtsy to them too.

The trio just looks at her dumbfounded. Second, later Regis smiled and patted Astraea on the top of her head.

"Good morning to you too, Little one, how was your day?"

"It's fine, Your Majesty, Thank you for asking," Astraea said politely.

"Well then, let's go inside we have a lot to talk about," Regis said as he put a hand behind Astraea and guided her towards the door. The two Palace guards open the double doors. Regis and Astraea are the first to enter.

"WOW!" she gasped.

The room was huge, it had a black and gold Victorian living room set in the middle of the room with two armchairs facing each other separated by a coffee table with a single sofa in the middle. In front of it is a huge Victorian style marble fireplace at the top is a flat-screen tv. At the far end of the room are two large walls to ceiling windows. Two large bookshelves filled with books are placed at each corner facing each other while the table with writing material is placed in the middle between the two windows. Astraea walked in lookup to the ornate ceiling to see a single giant Lucis crest decorated with black and gold as a chandelier hung in the middle.

Astraea gazed intently at the crest as she felt something inside her making her feel nostalgic. She remembered her conversation with Quistis that there are two symbols that Kingdom Lucis is using. One is for the Royal family the Lucis's emblem, the skull with wings and the other one is for the Kingdom Of Lucis. A flower-shaped crest, the crest is the same shape as the wall around the Crown City of Insomnia. Astraea is the one who pointed out that the shape is like a lotus flower if viewed from above. Quistis agreed with her, starting that day a red lotus kept on appearing in her dreams. She doesn't know how long she was staring at the symbol above her, she jumped slightly when she heard the King's voice.

"Do you like it little one?"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" she replied as she turned to him.

"This will be your new room starting today," Regis informed her as he took a seat on one of the armchairs.

"Really?" she squeaked.

"Yes," Regis nodded at her. "You can open the door to see the rest," Regis said while pointing at the double sliding door.

Astraea opened the sliding door slowly to reveal, a small size bedroom. She gasped again as she slowly walked in. She saw a large queen size bed with a canopy in the middle room with two side tables at each side of the bed with a table lamp. A mini sofa chaise longue is placed near the foot of the bed. She turned to her left to see a door, it looked like it led to a bathroom, beside the door a huge Victorian dresser with several books filled on top of it. Then she looked at her right saw double bay doors that lead to a small circular terrace with planted flowers and a small coffee glass table. On the right side of the glass door is a huge vanity mirror on the other side is another bookshelf. She ran to it and opened it. She went to the railing and saw the Crown city was to offer, the smile on her face grew wider. She thought the view in her hospital room is beautiful but the view here is breathtaking.

"Astraea, sweetheart please come here," Aerith called her.

"Is this really for me Your Majesty?" she asked as she returned inside to see her mother already sitting on the sofa. She took a seat next to her mother. Cor and Clarus just stood at either side of the King.

"Yes, this is your room, your mother will be next door, do you like it?"

"Yes, I really do Your Majesty," Astraea replied enthusiastically, "It is a great upgrade from my gloomy hospital room, Thank you, Your Majesty," she smiled brightly at the King.

Regis returned it with a soft smile, "Do you like some cookies and tea little one," Regis asked.

"Yes please, Your Majesty, but I can give coffee instead of tea?"

"Coffee, that is not good for you, little one,"

"Yes, I knew Your Majesty, But I like coffee more than tea,"

Regis just shook his head the turn to Clarus. Clarus then ordered the palace guards. The guard left and closed the door behind them.

"So how is your counseling going?" Regis asked as he gazed at her brown eyes.

"It's going fine Your Majesty, Miss Quistis really help me a lot she amazing at her job,"

"That great to hear little one,"

"Excuse me, Your Majesty, I don't want to be rude," she said softly "But can you not call me little one, please call me Astraea or Astra for short, I would like that very much,"

Regis chuckled and nodded at her. "Ok then Astraea, I want to know you better so can you tell me about yourself?"

Astraea eyes widened as she heard the King question, she looked down at her hands and started clasping and squeezing it together. Regis saw this and said, "If you don't like it, its Okay Astraea,"

"No, It's okay Your Majesty," she said softly, "I just surprised your the very first person who asked me about myself, for I have always been a loner, Your Majesty, I don't have any friends back on Galahad,"

Regis eyes soften as she heard Astraea explanation, "If you don't want too, we could talk about something else,"

"No, It's really okay, Your Majesty, so what do you like to know about me?" Astraea gaze at his emerald eyes.

"How about your ability, when did it start and how you control it," Regis asked.

"Well, it's a very long story Your Majesty are you okay with that,"

"It's okay, I have all day," Regis smiled again.

"Okay then, Your Majesty, let me start when I saw this red Chocobo," Astraea stated her side of the story when she discovered her ability of fire and accidentally burned down the western forest. She told the king everything about how she was treated after that event and boys at school and how her Mother and Father together with her uncle helped her control her ability and how she was trained under their wing. Regis just listened to her intently as she continued her story. Astraea stopped when they heard a knock on the door.

The door opens as two maids walk in carrying two a tray of cookies and drinks. They greeted the King with a small bow and placed the cookies and drinks at the table. They walked back and just stood at the sliding door behind Astraea and her mother.

"Let us talk later and come eat," Regis said.

Astraea transferred to the armchair opposite of King while both Clarus and Cor took a seat beside Aerith on the Sofa as they eat in silence. All of them surveyed Astraea who is happily munching away. After she took the coffee and took a sip of it, she put her tongue out. She thought the coffee was bitter and missing something, she turned towards one of the maids who's carrying a tray with sugar and cream. The maid noticed that she was ready to walk to her, but Astraea got to her first.

"Is this sugar?" she asked.

"Yes, Lady Astraea,"

Astraea raised an eyebrow at her for calling her that but thank her and took the sugar and went back to her seat. She started putting two spoonfuls of sugar on her coffee and went for another one when her mother stopped her.

"You're doing it again Astraea stop it two spoons of sugar are enough,"

Astraea turned to her mother after adding another spoonful. "But I like to add more," she whined.

"You already put four spoonfuls of sugar in it already, I think is enough," Clarus said, his voice was harsh as he looked at her.

Astraea glared at him as she added one more and finally, she stirred her coffee, "Well I like my coffee sweet," she said and took a sip, she lowered her head as she put the coffee down, "Unlike you, you are always bitter," Astraea looked up when she heard the maids giggled. She saw the shocked expression from Clarus. She looked confused and turned to her mother, Aerith's face turned into a frown that when it hit her. She said it out loud. She thought that she only said it in her mind.

"I'm sorry," she blurted out. "I didn't mean it, Sir Amicitia," she stood up and bowed her head down.

Silent filled the air and moments later The King chucked, "She really got you there Clarus," Regis smiled at Clarus who just looked at him with a frown on his face.

"It's not funny Your Majesty," Clarus grumbled

"Come on, she right you know, you're always bitter, you need to smile more," Regis teased his shield.

Clarus just scoffed and crossed his arms and glared at Astraea. She just smiled nervously as she lowered her head and took a seat again.

"I owe you an apology Sir Amicitia," she stated as she looked up, "I'm a very straightforward person, I really don't have control in what I say before I speak, please forgive me."

"That Alright," Clarus replied, "But you should be working with your manner, After all your nobility now, Lady Astraea Lumina, you should act like one,"

"Yes, I know, I'm a nobi-" Astraea stopped and looked at them wide-eyed. "I'M A WHAT NOW!" She bellowed as her hair turned red.

"The king gave you the title this morning because Aerith is now a part of the council," Cor spoke up.

Astraea looked at the King who was just smiling at her, "What the hell, Your Majesty, You gotta be kidding me!"

"Astraea!" Aerith shouted at her, she turned towards her mother as her eyes turned crimson she gazed back at King. Regis opens his mouth to speak but Astraea interject.

"Are you out of your mind Your Majesty! me, part of the nobility!?"

"Astraea that enough!" Aerith shouted at her as she yanked her down.

"But mother! Look at me, do you think I'm a lady, I'm nobody!" Astraea started to shake, in the past two weeks, she was able to control her emotions but now she is having another anxiety attack. Regis saw this and walked to her and put a hand on her head to calm her down.

"Astraea," Regis said softly.

Astraea looked up, "I have given you this title for your Father sacrifice, he did save my people and all these years your Mother and Father has helped the Kingdom of Lucis drive away the daemons, so please let me repay your family with this," Regis gave her a warm smile but Astraea did not smile back as she continues to shake.

"You knew with this title you can roam around the palace if you like?" Regis stated. This work as Astraea stopped shaking the eyes and hair returned back to its normal color and she worried expression was replaced with amusement.

"Really?"

"Yes, Astraea," Regis smiled at her.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," she hugged him and smiled, "But do I need to be called a Lady? I don't like it,"

Regis chuckled loudly and hugged her back. This surprised her and suddenly a white light flash ran across her eyes. She closed her eyes when she opened it again.

_She was standing in a different room, there were three large fitting mirrors in front of her and she was standing on a platform as two women arranged her dress properly. She looks at the mirror to see her reflection. She was surprised to see a woman who had the same face as her. The only difference is the women's eyes are crimson and she is much older than her for more than 8 years. She tried to move but nothing happened. It looks like she is seeing it from the point of view of the woman. The woman who has her face lets out a puff of frustration._

_"Is something wrong Lady Astraea? You don't like it?" one of the women asked her as she stepped back._

_"We have the same name?" she thought. She is now more confused as ever but continued watching._

_"No! I like it, it is very beautiful," the older Astraea said and she ran her hand in the ruffles of the white and pink dress. (White Mage Female from Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood). "I'm just not used to wearing something like this, do I have to wear this?"_

_"You have to Astraea, after all, people are expecting great things from you after all you have to look the part," a male voice said coming from behind._

_She turned around to see a man wearing a white healer cloak. He has brown hair and blue eyes, and strong facial features._

_"You look beautiful Astraea," the male said sincerely as he smiled at her._

_"Thanks, Ardyn," she said as she stepped down from the fitting platform and after thanking the maids she walked toward Ardyn._

_"Make sure not to step on your dress and fall flat on your face Astraea," Arydn tease her._

_Astraea let out a puff of frustration just kicked him in the knee._

_"Ouch! That hurts!" Ardyn whined._

_"That's what you get for teasing me!" she replied._

_"Well teasing you is one of my jobs, its general rule of being a big brother to tease their little sister," Ardyn said as he pinched both of Astraea's cheeks and stretched it._

_"Ow! That hurt BROTHER!" Astraea exclaimed and punched him in the stomach that made Ardyn fall on his back with a loud thud, Ardyn stayed glued on the floor for a few seconds when a shadow of a person loomed over him. He looked up, he saw a man wearing a blue robe, With black cape and a blue shawl around his hips, his blue eyes glaring at them._

_"Are you two finished with your shenanigans," The man said with an annoyed tone._

_"Hey Somnus, mind helping your big brother out?" Ardyn reached out a hand toward him and Somnus took it and pulled his brother up and he turned to his sister._

_"Hi, brother,"_

_"You look beautiful, little sister," Somnus smiled._

_"How many times have I told you not to call me little anymore! For goodness sake I am already 23 years old! " she whined and pouted._

_Ardyn now standing and leaning his right elbow on Somnus's shoulder and looking at their sister who's now pouting like a child. They turned to each other and smiled. Astraea saw this and let out another puff of frustration. Ardyn and Somnus shook their heads as they both turned around and started walking away from her._

_"Let's go, the people are waiting," Somnus stopped and turned to her again, "Just don't fall flat on your face this time, Fire Maiden, It's not lady-like." he smiled at her then walked off. Ardyn burst out laughing as he continued to walk away._

_"I WILL BURN THE BOTH OF YOU! IF YOU DON'T STOP TEASING ME!" Astraea shouted at them as she ran after them._

Another flash of white light ran across Astrea's eyes, she closed it and fell into a deep slumber.

Early after King Regis hugged Astraea, The girl went limp in his arms all the people in the room gasped as they saw her falling on His Majesty's arms. Aerith rushed over to her and asked Cor for help to carry on to the bed. They lay her down gently as Aerith took a seat beside the bed and brushed the hair on her face while Cor stood at the foot of the bed. King Regis's demeanor changed, he ordered no scream at the maids to call the doctor. As he stood at the foot of Astraea bed. Regis tightens his grip on his cane almost breaking it, Clarus saw this and asked.

"Your Majesty, are you alright?"

"I will be alright Clarus if she will be," Regis said.

Clarus was confused about why the king is acting like this. After the King is always composed and regal. Regis never let his anger show, the last time he remembered Regis like this was when a daemon attacked the prince years ago.

"Your Majesty, Please take a seat,"

"I will not do such a thing Clarus! Regis shouted at him.

"Why are you so worried about that girl Regis!" Clarus snapped back at him.

Both Aerith and Cor turned to them as the air around them became serious.

Regis opens his mouth to speak but someone cuts him off.

"Because she's family," A male voice chimed in from behind them coming from the terrace.

They all turn to him, Both Clarus and Cor summoned their weapons and pointed it towards the intruder.

Clarus stepped forward and glared at him. "Who are you? how do you get in!,"

"Oh, so fierce" Male piped as he advanced towards them. "You don't want to play with shield," the male voice became more threatening as he held his right hand up his nails turning into sharp talons as he started to glow red. "You don't know who you are dealing with,"

Clarus just glared at him and drew his sword forward then launched at him. The King's shield brought his sword downward, the male was able to catch it with his right hand, his finger like-talons gripping the blade. It burst into flames and ran across towards the sword hilt, burning Clarus's hands in the process. Clarus dropped the sword and then he felt a kick to his stomach. Cor was able to get his Majesty out of the way. Clarus flew past them sending him towards one of the dressers. His back hit the dresser knocking down all the books and he fell to the ground but managed to put his hands in front of him to catch his fall.

"So much for the King's Shield," he snarled, "Your nothing compared to Gilgamesh,"

Cor was next after securing the King he stepped forward, unsheathed his katana and pointed it towards the male. The male just snickered at him then Marshal suddenly launched at him. He slashed downward but before his blade hit the intruder a barrier appeared and stopped his blade Cor was surprised and jumped back.

"That's enough!" Regis shouted at them.

They all looked at the King, his face turned into a frown as he glared at them.

"Sorry, Your Majesty," The male greeted him with a bow. "I just want to test your people, please forgive me,"

Regis just nodded at him and looked at his shield to see him still on his knees. He went towards him and offered his hand, Clarus took it and stood up.

"Care to tell me what is really going on here Regis," Clarus asked, still glaring at the intruder.

"His name is Reno," Aerith finally spoke up, both Cor and Clarus turn to her, "He is a messenger and Astraea's guardian," she said as she stood up and turned to Reno. "What happened to her Reno?"

Reno sighed as his hand returned to normal and walked on the opposite side of the bed, he leaned down and put his hand on Astraea forehead. The marks on Reno's cheeks glow faintly.

"She will be okay Aerith, her memory is just coming back to her,"

Aerith sighed in relief and took a seat again. Aerith gently took Astraea's right hand and held it. "Are you sure, why is she always losing consciousness?"

"It's just normal, her mind and body are just recovering as her memory comes back to her, she just needs rest, she will wake up soon enough don't worry," Reno reassured her.

"Are you sure she is okay Messenger?" Regis asked him as he walked beside Aerith and leaned down to brush Astraea in the cheek. Astraea whimpered in her sleep "Somnus,"

Reno smiled after hearing Astraea called that name, "Yup, she will be alright, Your Majesty," Reno turned towards the King and Aerith and smiled. "Everything is going to be fine, so don't worry,"

Both Clarus and Cor clear their throats. The trio turned towards them.

"Oh, yes you two need an explanation," Regis said as he stood up. "He will tell you everything,"

Clarus and Cor turned to Reno who just smiled at them and gave them a peace sign. "Sorry about early, I just testing you two,"

Clarus just scoffed and crossed his arms in front of him. "So are you going to stand there and tell us or not?"

"Oh come you are too serious Shield, my master is right when she said your bitter," Reno teased him as he walked past him patting him on the shoulder.

Clarus shrugged his shoulders and his eyes glared daggers at him. Reno just laughed at him and walked toward the living room and took a seat where Astraea was sitting early.

"I will tell you what you want, but first you need to get rid of them first," Reno stated.

"Get rid of who?" Cor asked as he followed Reno.

Then they heard a knock on the door. "Your Majesty, the doctors, and nurses are here, can we come in?"

Cor looks at the King, Regis shook his head. Cor knew what to do and went outside. He told them that everything is alright and they don't need them anymore. He ordered the guards to keep guard along the hallway and no one should be allowed near Astraea door. The palace guards seemed confused but followed the Marshal orders. After securing the hallway Cor returns inside to find the King is now sitting across from Reno and Clarus is sitting on the sofa his arms crossed, while Aerith remains in Astraea side.

"Are you sure no one will bother us?" Reno asked him.

"Yes," Cor answered as he took a seat beside Clarus.

"Ok then," Reno leaned forward. "But first you must promise me that everything you will hear will never leave this room, the fate all of Eos depended on it."

Both Cor and Clarus nodded as they relaxed their bodies.

"Ok then, Let's start... Two millennia ago Infernian the God of Fire, Ifrit decided to send his flames across Eos, to seek the right one who will take his flames…..

Both Cor And Clarus's eyes widened as Reno continued his story, sometimes Reno paused a bit and looked at Astraea and returned his attention to them. It took three hours for Reno to finish his story. After hearing this Cor and Clarus have both shock and disbelief plaster on their faces. Cor stood up and ran his hand on his hair as he walked towards the still sleeping Astraea, his gaze at her intently while Clarus remained seated not moving an inch.

"How long did you know about this Your Majesty," Cor asked.

"Three days ago," Regis answered.

"How about you Aerith," Cor turned to her, "Did Zack know about this too?"

"Yup," Reno chimed in as he jumped out of the armchair and walked towards Astraea. "They knew about it since Astraea powers have been awoken back in Galahd 6 years ago,"

"So why did you not inform us of this Aerith," Cor asked her.

"I'm sorry Cor, bu-"

Reno interject "I made them do it, I made them hide the truth,"

"But why?" Clarus suddenly stood up and turned to Reno. "Why all the secrecy? Why did you just go to us in the first place."

Reno just looked at him with a straight face and said. "Because I have to hide her from the darkness that wants to destroy her. I was able to hide her all these years but now darkness has found her yet again and it will do everything to destroy her. That is the reason why I came here. I need your help, I can't protect her alone so please help me protect her." Reno sincerely said as he gazed back at Astraea, his blue eyes reflected his every word.

The room went silent for a while when Astraea whimpered a named again "Ardyn,"

"So what now, are we going to tell her? Cor asked "

"What no!" Reno bellowed, "You should never tell Astraea anything! she needs to recover her memory on her own, this is her own trial and her fate as the Fire Maiden."

All of them went silent again then Reno spoke again.

"I know it's a bit confusing and hard to accept but she needs our help, we need to protect her and the Prince as well at all cause. We need to guide them, so they can be ready if fate calls them, so they can fulfill it and save Eos once in for all" Reno stated.

"Ok then, what do you want us to do," Clarus asked this time, his voice soft and understanding.

"I want you to do nothing," Reno answered.

"What? Why?" Cor asked.

"Because both the Fire Maiden and the Prince are still young, they don't need to know what fate lies ahead of them, Let them live a life of being a normal teenager. I want that because Astraea had never experienced that, I want her to enjoy her life here in the Crown City,"

"Is that what you wish messenger, then we will grant it," Regis reassured him.

"Thank you Your Majesty, But don't worry I will be looking after both of them, Astraea and Prince they will be safe,"

"Ok then, so do we do about Astraea, if she remembers her past why would she not tell me," Aerith asked Reno.

Reno shook his head and went and took a seat beside Astraea in bed. "Well, knowing Astraea she will not tell you anything, she always keeps it to herself, and finds the answer herself for she is one selfless person," Reno caressed her cheek gently. "She always likes that, and she will always be, so if she wakes she will act normal as nothing serious happened and she will lie and tell you some kind of reason and just go with it."

"Ok then, we will protect her Reno," Regis said.

"I know you will, Your Majesty " Reno turned to Cor and Clarus. "So no hard feelings?" Reno extended his hand toward Cor who's nearest to him, Cor accepted it and shook it. Then Reno walked towards Clarus and extended his hand towards him, Clarus reluctantly accepted and shook it firmly.

"If I'm not busy, let's have a rematch," Clarus said.

"Ok then Shield," Reno smirked, "Justs say when,"

"Now that all out of the way, what should we do about Astraea? She doesn't like the whole turning her to nobility thing," Regis said.

Reno laughed "Just go with it, I want to see it unfold,"

"What about her education, the school year has already started but she does not want to go, what should we do?" Aerith asked.

"Just wait for her, don't force it upon her. She will do it all on her own," Reno said as he walked toward the terrace. "I want to chat more but I need to go somewhere else. I will be keeping a close look eye, especially at you Clarus," Reno glared at him. "Please be more friendly towards her and keep your patience high, after all that what Gilgamesh did." Reno smiled at them, but before anyone could speak up, Reno in a flash of red light turned into a bird. His feather is bright red and has a bright red comb. His lower feathers are the colors of the rainbow and he had three long tail peacock feathers, he bowed to them and flew off.

"So Reno is a- " Cor slowly said, looking for the right word to say.

"I don't know, I never saw Reno true form," Aerith whispered.

They all looked at each other when Astraea shifted on the bed and turned their attention to her. They all took a deep breath as they waited for Astraea to wake up.

**…**

Outside Reno went flying across the sky dogging and swerving the tall building when he found what he's looking for, Lucis Regal Academy. He landed in one of the trees near one of the buildings and looked inside. There in the last chair beside the window, sit a male teen with black hair and blue eyes. The teenager is resting his chin on his open palm staring intently towards the sky. Reno gaze at him intently studying his facial features.

"Found you," Reno whispered to himself.

"Wow! look at that bird" a teen with blonde hair beside him bellowed.

The teen with black hair turned towards Reno. They made eye contact as Reno's blue eyes focused on him.

_**"You really look like him,"** _Reno thought. _**"This will be fun,"** _as he flapped his wings revealing his beautiful rainbow feathers.

"WOW!" The blonde teen bellowed again.

_**"Don't worry Prince, you and Astraea will be meeting soon enough. If that happens I hope you two will work together and be a family once again. After all,** __Things fade in time as do many things in this world. But there are some things that we cannot let disappear."_ Reno flapped his wings again.

"Camera! let me get my camera," the blonde said as he went to his table.

But before the blonde could get his camera Reno flapped his wings and flew off.

"Oh, darn it, I should have taken its picture faster, hey Noctis are you okay?" The blonde nudged his friend who was still looking at Reno from a distance.

"Ah yes, I'm okay, Prompto," his friend replied.

"Do you think we can see that bird again, Noctis?" Prompto asked.

"Why are you asking me that and stop calling me by my full name, I told you to call me Noct,"

"Ok sorry about that Noct, so where are you going after class," Prompto asked happily.

"At the arcade do you want to come?" he asked him.

"Sure!" Prompto cheerful replied.

Noctis just smiled and looked up again in the sky.

Reno continued to fly and went outside the Crown city and flew across the great sea. Reno sighed as he continued to flap his wings. What happened today is only the start of their fight against the darkness. He was surprised that King and his people accepted Astraea past that easy, he thought he might need to prove to them but he was relieved that it did not happen and it went smoothly. Now he is going to meet someone, that someone will help Astraea and Prince Noctis someday when their path crosses. He just wanted to see if she was okay and her fate is turning in the right direction.

He arrived at another side of Eos where the family of the Oracle lives the kingdom of Tenebrae. He landed in the field of Sylleblossoms and remained in his bird form as he waited for someone. When he heard leaves crunch behind him he turned around to see a female wearing a black gown, she has black hair and olive green eyes. He bowed his head toward her.

"Oh, Guardian of the Fire Maiden, what brings you here in the land of the oracle," the female said her voice low and calm.

Reno flew and perched himself in the female shoulder. "It's done, the Fire Maiden and The king of Light has started their journey, we need the new Oracle now" Reno whispered.

"It's already done. The oracle has already answered her call and is waiting for the right time to act."

"Gentiana," a female voice called behind them.

Both of them turned around to see a teenage girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a white dress.

"Lady Luna what brings you here," Gentiana greeted her.

"Nothing, I just want to see the sylleblossoms," Luna replied.

Luna noticed Reno and smiled at him. Reno flapped his wings and looked at her in the eyes.

_**"Soon dear Oracle all of you will meet again and all of you will save Eos. So keep your light shining until then,"**_ Reno said to himself.

Reno turned towards Gentiana, she smiled at him then Reno flew back towards his home, where his master is waiting.

**…**

Back at the Citadel the King did not wait for Astraea to wake up for he has an important thing to attend to and left with both Cor and Clarus leaving Aerith at Astraea bedside. It took half of the day to Astraea to regain consciousness again. When Astraea regains her consciousness it's already night time and time for dinner.

Clarus informed Regis about Astraea waking up so he invited them for dinner for he didn't have one yet. At first, Astraea did not want to go but her mother persuaded her and said that declining the King invitation was rude. After changing into a proper dress, they went to the dining room when they arrived. The king was already sitting at the table with a small banquet ready for them. Clarus was there standing next to the king, Aerith and Astraea took a seat beside the King and began eating in silence.

"Are you okay now Astraea?" Regis asked.

"Yes, Your Majesty," she replied as she put down the utensils. "Thanks for the meal Your Majesty, it was delicious"

Regis just smiles at her, "Do you want some dessert?"

"Thank Your Majesty, but I am already full," she said politely.

"Ok then, so did your mother explain everything to you about you placing her in the palace and being part of the nobility?"

Early when Astraea is getting ready to go to dinner her mother revealed to her that Lumina's family has always been a part of the council and has nobility status even before the war started. That her grandfather took a seat on the council's table but when Nifleiheim attacked Galahd that seat became vacant. Her father Zack Lumina has the only surviving member of the Lumina clan after the attack. Aerith told Astraea that King Regis once tried to give the title back to her Father, but Zack refused it because he does not want any part of it and wanted to have a normal life. The king accepted it but told him that someday his vacant seat will be filled by his descendants. Her mother told her that she will take the seat someday, for now, she will replace her for the time being as she is still very young and inexperienced. Knowing this Astraea accepted it because she really wanted to continue his father's legacy.

"Yes, Your Majesty, she already did," Astraea turned to her mother and smiles and glances back at the King. "It will be an honor to continue Lumina's legacy and be part of the council, Your Majesty, I will do my best," she said with a smile on her face as she bowed her head down.

Regis glanced toward Aerith as their eyes met.

Early after Reno left the King decided to have a meeting. They all took a seat in the living room. Cor and Clarus on the sofa while Aerith took a seat opposite to the King. They decided to hide everything from Astraea as Reno instructed them. That the information that Reno told them will not leave that room and they will do everything they can to protect Astraea. Aerith suggested that the King will remove Astraea nobility status if he wanted Astraea to live a normal life. But Regis is adamant that his action for giving Astraea nobility status will give her extra protection from the Crownsguards and they can stay on the palace for their safety. Aerith hearing the King's explanation persuaded her to accept the King's offer. The only thing they need is the right reason so that Astraea will accept and don't question it. Aerith came out with an idea of how they can persuade Astraea to accept it. After planning their future action, the King took his leave and asked Aerith to look after her and called him if she regains consciousness.

Aerith smiled for their plan work, Regis returned the smile and turned his attention back to Astraea.

"I'm glad you accepted it, I know you will become a great part of the council someday," Regis said softly as he patted Astraea on the head.

Astraea smiled at him. "I will make you proud Your Majesty,"

After dinner and thanking the king for his hospitality, Aerith took Astraea to her room and went to her own room which is beside Astraea's. She is now getting ready to sleep when she hears a knock on the door. She opened it to see her daughter.

"Can I sleep here for tonight?" Astraea asked sheepishly.

"Of course sweetheart," she said softly as she took her daughter's hand to guide her to the bedroom. Her room is just like her daughter's. The only thing different is her bed doesn't have a canopy. They both climbed onto the bed and hugged each other.

"Good night Mother," Astraea whispered.

"Good night Astraea," she whispered back.

"I love you,"

"I love you too," Aerith murmured as she kissed her on the forehead.

Even Astraea was asleep all day that did not stop her from falling asleep immediately as she took only five minutes to fall into a deep peaceful sleep. Astraea curled up on her against Mother's body as Aerith started to fall asleep.

Morning came and Aerith went to the council meeting after all they needed to act the part. Astraea went back to her room and started to take down notes about her dreams. She was surprised that her dream last night is normal, that she dreamt her whole family is having a joyous picnic back on Galahd. She tearfully took it down on the red notebook that Quistis gave her. After taking down notes when she went to the terrace to have some air. She took a seat at the coffee table as she remembered yesterday's events. After waking up her mother immediately asked her why she lost consciousness. She lied again for she doesn't know who to explain to her mother about the vision or dream she had. She told her that the King's announcement of her becoming nobility took a toll on her and that the reason why is fainted. She was surprised that her mother accepted her reason. After that, they went and joined the King of supper. She really doesn't know why the King is so kind to her but she likes it. She could feel a strong connection between her and the King, that is why she accepted the nobility status and she agreed to live in the Citadel of the time being, for she wanted to know why she is feeling that way towards the King. She chuckled when she remembered the first time she met the King, but her amusement disappeared when she remembered why they were at the Citadel in the first place. Her father's death and destruction of their hometown.

She took a deep breath "It, not fair Father," she murmured. "You should be the one on that seat, not me. But I promise I will make you proud," she looked up at the sky and it started to rain. A raindrop fell directly on her right cheek, a few seconds later she felt another raindrop on her left cheek, her eyes started to water. After a few seconds, she let it fall as she cried. She doesn't know how long she stayed seated as the rain poured down. She stopped crying when she heard a knock on the door. She quickly went to the bathroom to hide the fact she was crying and soaking wet. It was the same two maids that brought their food yesterday. Her mother informed her that they will be her personal maids, she refused it at first but accepted when she learned that King Regis personally picked them for her. After the knocking began to go louder she called them to enter.

"Lady Astraea are you okay," One of the maids asked.

"Yes, I'm fine, just taking a bath," Astraea said as she put her back against the door.

"Do you need some assistance?"

"No, I'm fine, I can manage"

"Do you need anything Lady Astraea?"

"No, I'm fine I will call if I need anything or assistance. You can both leave now," she stated.

"Okay Lady Astraea, just call us if you need anything,"

"Thank you," Astraea said.

When Astraea heard the footsteps retreating and the door closed, she slid down onto the floor hugged her knees and started to cry once again. After five minutes she stopped and wiped her tears. After composing herself she decided to take a shower. It only took her five minutes to finish as she dried her wet clothes using her ability. She is able to use it again and has full control. After putting the dry clothes in the hamper. She decided to go outside, she opened the door slightly to see if any guards were outside, after all, she was still grounded and had three days to go. She was surprised that there was no one there, so she stepped outside and roamed the palace alone once again.

In the council room, the annual meeting has finished and all the members left except Aerith and Clarus.

"Did Astraea sleep peacefully last night?" Regis asked Aerith as he stands.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Aerith replied.

"Is she still in her room? I want to talk to her,"

"Yes, Your Maje-"

"No, she is not," a male voice piped up.

They both turned towards the source of the familiar voice to see Reno sitting on one council member's chair.

"Messenger," Regis greeted him. "What do you mean she is not in her room?" Regis asked as he walked towards him.

"She was roaming the hall a while ago last time I saw her," Reno stated as he stood up, "And please Your Majesty, call me Reno," the guardian smiled at the kings as he bowed his head.

"So where is she now?" Clarus asked.

"She going the music room," Reno said as he started to walk towards the door, "Let's go we don't want to miss it,"

"Miss what?" Aerith asked as she walked parallel to Reno.

Reno just smiled "One of Astraea ways to show her emotion in a weird way."

The trio stopped on their tracks and looked at Reno in bewilderment. He noticed it and looked back. "Come on or we will miss it,"

When they arrived at the music room Astraea was already inside and sitting on the bench at the grand piano. They stayed at the door for it was slightly ajar and waited for her further action. Astraea took a deep breath and started playing the piano and moment later she started to sing as the rain started to pour down again outside. (Youtube Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood - "Rain" | ENGLISH Ver | AmaLee)..

"She is the same as ever," Reno murmured as he gazed intently at Astraea who was still singing. "Even back then she never did show her emotion,"

"What do you mean Reno?" Aerith whispered.

"Back then Astraea was always thinking about other people, she does not want others to be burdened by her feelings or emotions. So she keeps it to herself, but sometimes if she can't take it anymore she will sing about it," Reno explained as he looked back at Aerith. "I was surprised that she is very open to both of you and let her emotions show. I was right in picking both of you. You and Zack did the right thing in raising her and I thank you for that Aerith Lumina."

"You don't have to thank us Reno, we are just doing what is right, after all, she is our daughter," Aerith replied with a smile as she gazed at Astraea who's in the middle of her song now.

"Will she be alright Reno?" Regis asked.

"Yes, she will be as long she safe and away from the darkness," Reno glanced at King.

"You have my word Reno, I will not let anything happen to her," Regis reassured him as he put his hand on his heart.

Reno nodded and smiled at the King after he returned his gaze towards Astraea who had finished her song and close fallboard carefully, as she used her hand to lay her head on top on it and doze off.

"I will take her back to her room," Aerith said as she is about to open the door.

"No, let her sleep there, she will wake up eventually, just expect her to doze off a lot more," Reno said as he started to walked away as he put his hand on the back of his head.

Aerith, Regis, and Clarus just looked at each other and followed Reno as they passed the door the glanced at Astraea sleeping form.

"Do you think it is time for them to meet?" Regis asked as he stopped walking.

Reno stopped and looked back, "Of course I will look forward to it, finally the Fire Maiden and King of Light will meet, after two millennia the prophecy will finally be fulfilled," they continue to walk towards the King's Chambers to further discuss their future actions. Back at the music room, Astraea whispered another name

"Reno…"

* * *

A/N: I loved listening to anime and game songs cover especially from Amalee. I always listen to her songs while I'm writing. So expect a lot of song covers from her in the future chapters.

THANK YOU! Hope you enjoy this and have a wonderful Day!

Next chapter The Fire Maiden and the King of Light


	10. Chapter 8

**The Fire Maiden and the King of Light**  
_"This is fate. I'm sure there is a reason that we met. Everything is decided_  
_by fate. A destiny that been determined." -Meteora Osterreich(Re: Creators)_

* * *

Two weeks later Astraea was given a personal tutor and homeschool at the Citadel and had to spend the whole day studying. She questioned it at first but the King asked her to stay inside her room for the time being and not go outside her room or outside the palace, he explained to her that her existence is still a secret and only the council members and few palace people knew about her. She doesn't like it but doesn't have any other choice but to follow the King. Every day her mother will leave to attend the council meetings and escort the King on his daily agenda. While Astraea is forced to stay and do her school work. Even with all that had happened Astraea is still focused on her studies and still doing great, her tutor is very impressed with her and recommends her to attend Lucis Regal Academy.

Because of her tutor, Astraea loved the idea of her attending the academy and she ended up asking her mother if she can attend the Academy. Her mother said yes but she was to wait a week for them to arrange her transfer in the meantime she was to remain inside her room and attend her therapy sessions. It was changed to two days a week rather than three days. Every Tuesday and Thursday Quistis will visit her and continue their session. After a week Quistis informed her that her progress is amazing and she recommended that they finish their therapy session for she does not need it anymore. She was happy but sad at the same time. So she asked if she could still visit her and talk about other things, Quitis happily accepted it and promised to return during the weekend.

Even with his busy schedule the King still has time to visit Astraea and talk about their day. Astraea asked the King if she could go roam the palace even just a little while. Regis granted the request and gave her permission to roam around the palace every Wednesday but she has to be accompanied by her maids and Crowns guards. She is only allowed to go outside between 1 to 5 p.m and has limited access to each floor of the Citadel. She gladly accepts is better than nothing.

**…**

One gloomy Wednesday afternoon, Astraea had finished her school work and asked if she could roam the Palace. The Crownguards granted the request and escorted her while she visited a new floor in the west wing of the Citadel. Together with her maids, they came across the Guard Room.

"So this is a guards room?"

"Yes, Lady Astraea do you want to go inside?" one of her maids asked.

"If I can, I would love too,"

After the guard called their leader, Marshal Leonis, Astraea was allowed to go inside. There she saw multiple screens featuring the CCTV footage of the entire Citadel. She took notes where the CCTV is located and remembered it as it will help her in her plan to escape.

"Where you want to go, Lady Astraea," One the maids asked as he held the door open for her.

"How about the garden, I haven't gone there yet,"

One of the guards stopped her "I'm sorry Lady Astraea, the garden is off limit for you, King's order,"

Astraea let out a puff of frustration and stopped at one of the elevators. She pushed the button to go down when and the other guard stopped her again.

"Sorry, Lady Astraea, but you're are now allowed to go down either,"

Astraea rolled her eyes in frustration, "Fine, I go back to my room!"

"Okay, then we will escort you back."

The five of them went inside the elevator, Astraea was in the middle while her maids are standing on the back while the two crown guards are in front of her. In the last second before the elevator door closed she sprinted towards it and was able to go outside as she pushed all buttons before it closed. Both her maids and crownsguard called out to her but it was too late they did not reach her in time. She went straight for the stairway and made her way down and she avoided the CCTV and was able to reach the Citadel front gate when she was about to go outside she was yanked back by someone. She panicked and her instinct when to work, Her eyes turned crimson and her hair blood red, she was able to throw the person over her shoulder and slam that person on the pavement, she summoned a fire spell and ready to cast it towards the person.

"Astraea stop," Aerith shouted as she held her daughter's right hand.

Astraea turned to her mother and to the person on the pavement, It was the King's shield. Her eyes widened as it returned to normal with her hair. She apologized profusely, Clarus forgave her and escorted them back to Astraea room. When they arrived Clarus stopped and waited outside the room while Aerith dragged Astraea inside the room. While Clarus was dusting his ride he could hear the conversation inside the room.

"You grounded for another week and no more walking around the halls!" Aerith said in a stern voice.

"But mother, I just trying t-"

"No buts you have to act your age Astraea!"

"Yes, Mother,"

Outside Clarus is the only one standing when he felt a presence, he summoned his sword and attacked the person behind him. Reno was able to catch the blade again with his claw-like nails. The redhead smiled at him as Clarus strengthened himself up and turned away and started to walk away.

"Hey wait up!" Reno called out. "I told you never underestimate Astraea look what happens to you, a teenager just slam you on the ground, like your nothing"

Clarus stopped and turned to him, "Should you be guarding her, guardian!"

"I did," Reno replied with a smile.

"So why do you let her go outside then,"

"You got to her first and I'm not planning on meeting her, so please be a good shield and take care of her, if she does this again after all it's your job as the Royal Shield," Reno patted him on the back.

Clarus just glared at him as Reno smiled and disappeared in a flash of red light. Clarus just sighed and continued walking toward the King's Chamber to report what happened. After knowing what happened the King doubled the security inside the Palace and ordered two additional Crowns guards to guard Astraea. She did not like it but it made her more motivated to try again, she conducted another plan this time is gonna work, she will go outside the Citadel and roam the city.

**...**

Two days later on a bright and sunny day in the city center. A teenager with dirty blonde hair and eyeglasses disembarked a black car and went straight to the building. In the elevator, he strengthened his black vest and buttoned the cuff of his long-sleeved blouse. After arriving on the right floor he went straight to the last apartment on the third floor in the building complex. He knocked three times but no one answered so he decided to use his spare key to get inside. Inside he saw three garbage bags at the front door near the bathroom. He sighed at the sight of it but continued to walk inside. He stopped at the second door to the right and cracked the door open to see a messy bedroom filled with empty bottles, boxes of takeout food and papers on the floor and on the desk. His emerald eyes gaze upon the boy lying on the bed. He stepped inside the room but stopped and closed the door again to let the boy sleep a bit more. He walked further inside the apartment toward the living room/kitchen/dining room. There he saw the room was a mess too. There are dirty dishes in the sink, piles of trash scattered around the room.

He took a deep breath to compose himself and put the folder he was carrying on the countertop. He walked toward the bookshelves and saw a photo of him and King with a small boy with raven hair and blue eyes. They are standing in front of the King's chair in the throne room. He closed his eyes as a smile appeared on his face as he remembers that day. He met the Prince at the age of 6 and later became his retainer and mentor as they grew up together. He became the Prince driver when he reached the age of 15 when the Prince started attending middle school 3 weeks ago from the day he cared for the prince on a daily basis as the prince was living alone.

Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum the 114th heir to the Lucian throne acts like every other teenager in his age even with his royal statue. The prince is lazy and even stubborn at times and forgets his royal duties as the prince. As his retainer, he needs to keep the prince on the line. He keeps telling the prince to act more mature and he needs to look after himself but the prince is stubborn and will not follow his instructions. So he composed himself for he has no choice but to keep his patience after all the prince is still young and is still on his rebellious age.

He walked to the couch and saw the blue cardboard file folder that has classified information written on the coffee table slightly covered by a newspaper. He remembered the day when the King had given it to him and ordered him to give it to the prince and said that its top priority for the Prince to read it and was ordered not to let anyone see the report that 2 weeks ago looks like the prince did not even bother reading it. He took a deep sigh again and pinched the bridge of his nose and he took the folder and transferred it on the countertop. He turned his attention to the sink and rolled his sleeves up and started washing the plates. 30 minutes later he started making breakfast, it woke the prince up and walked toward the kitchen.

"Morning, Your Highness," Ignis greeted the prince as he continued cutting the vegetables.

"Morning to you too," The prince replied with an annoyed tone, "You're early," Noctis walked toward the fridge still yawning.

"It's already 6:45, you only have 1 hour and 15 minutes to eat your breakfast and get dressed and go to school. If you were you I would go take a bath first," Ignis stated as he cracked an egg on the bowl and started whisking it.

"You know I don't need you constant supervision Ignis, I can take care of myself," The prince said as he opened the fridge and took a can of soda and about to drink it.

"Noct, you're gonna spoil your breakfast, put it down," Ignis said with a stern voice.

Noctis turned to his retainer and was met by Ignis piercing emerald eyes. It took him by surprise as he knows that Ignis is always calm and collected but the way he looked at made him shiver so he followed him and put the can down on the counter.

"Fine," he grunted, "I go take a bath but make sure you don't put any vegetables on my omelet," Noctis rubbed his hair in frustration as he walked back toward the bathroom.

Ignis just sighed and continued cooking after setting the table down, he started cleaning the apartment. After 40 minutes Noctis returned fully dressed in his school uniform and sat down and started eating breakfast.

"I told you not to put vegetables," Noctis whined as he picked the vegetables and set it aside.

"Noct, you must eat your vegetables so need your strength to go through the day," Ignis stated as he grabbed the folder on the counter and gave it to him.

"What this?" Noctis asked.

"Report about the attack on Galahd, The King ordered me to give it to you, that was two weeks ago and you did not even read it?"

"Sorry I been busy with school work,"

"Ok then, but promise me Noct that you will read this, as the heir you need to be more involved in the affairs of the state," Ignis said as he put down the envelope on the table.

"I know, you don' t have to tell me every day about it," Noctis said as he stood up.

"You haven't finished your breakfast, where are you going?" Ignis asked as his gaze followed the prince. Noctis grabbed his bag from the living room couch and swung it over his left shoulder and started walking.

"I lost my appetite, I will be going now." Noctis grumpily said.

"Wait, I will give you a ride to school," Ignis said as he followed the Prince at the front door.

Noctis ignore him as he wears his shoes "I can walk on my own,"

Before Ignis could reply the prince was already out the door. Ignis just took a deep breath and sighed.

"Patience is a virtue Ignis" he whispered to himself as he returned to his work cleaning the Prince apartment.

Outside the apartment, The prince grumpily walked towards the academy, his gaze downward and focused on the pavement. The prince continued to walk like this, halfway to the academy. He stopped on the crosswalk and waited for the light to turn green. He thought that if he lives outside the palace he can be free from his princely duty but no, Ignis keeps pestering him about the state affairs and keeps on reminding him about his royal duty. He is starting to get annoyed with this, for he just wants to live as a normal high school student free from any obligation. But his retainer is right he is the Prince someday he will be King. He has no choice for his fate is already set in stone. The light turned green and he walked to the other side, his gaze still lowered he did not notice a blond teen standing and joyfully waving his hands at the end of the crosswalk.

"Good Morning No-"

Noctis bumped the teen on the nose with his forehead and made his bag fall from his grasp.

"Hey, watch where you-" Noctis angrily said as his gaze up to see his friend Prompto rubbing his nose.

"Ouch!, that hurt Noct!" the blonde whined still rubbing his nose.

Noctis soften his demeanor, "Sorry about that Prompto,"

"Nah, It's okay," Prompto piped up as he grabbed the prince bag and handed it to him, "So what made you all grumpy?"

"It's nothing, let's go to school," Noctis said as he started walking again.

Prompto opened his mouth to speak but closed it when Noctis passed him. He sighed and followed his friend in silence. They arrived at the academy minutes before the bell rang. Even though he is the prince, the school faculty and students treat him like a normal student. But nobody is brave enough to talk to him except for his best friend Prompto. As Prince he needs to set a good example, so he studies hard and always top of his class. But he is still very reclusive and never interacts with his fellow classmates. He likes that because he just wants to take naps in his free time. During lunch, Prompto is his only company.

"Hey, Noct, What is your lunch for today?" Prompto asked as he grabbed his chair and put it beside the Noctis's table and sat on it.

"Darn," Noctis grumbled under his breath as he remembered that he forgot to grab his lunchbox from the table.

"You forgot again didn't you Noct," Prompto said as he started unwrapping his lunchbox, "Here we can share mine."

Noctis looked down at the Prompto lunchbox to see that it was all vegetable carrot sticks, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, and two whole boiled eggs.

Noctis brows knitted together, "No thanks, you know I hate vegetables, got anything else?"

"Sorry buddy, I need to eat healthily, I need to maintain my weight after all," Prompto said and he took a bite of the carrot stick.

Noctis shrugged and stood up and walked away towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Prompto asked as he finished munching the carrot stick.

"Go get some real food," Noctis waved his hand as he disappeared down the corridor.

At the canteen, Noctis grabbed two ham and cheese sandwiches and one can of soda went and lined up for the queue for the cashier. He was standing there when he accidentally eavesdropped on his schoolmate's conversation.

"Hey did you hear about that giant fish that was spotted at the bay of the Galdin Quay?" a male student asked his friend.

"Yeh, I heard that is really hard to catch,"

Noctis ear twitch as he heard it, he always likes to go finishing, it one of his hobbies, but he only has the chance to go finishing on the man-made lake inside the crown city, for he is forbidden to go outside the crown city for his safety. He always asked Ignis to drive him outside the crown city just to look around and maybe go fishing, but Ignis did not like the idea and forbid him to go outside.

_**"Hmm, maybe I could ask Ignis again,"**_ Noctis thought, **_"But knowing Ignis he won't let me. I can just go there alone without saying anything to him, It just for a while I will be back before sunset,"_** he continued to ponder when he heard his classmate's voice again.

"I even heard that a fisherman will give awesome reward to the person who is able to catch it,"

"Really, what kind of reward?"

"Well, I heard it a kind of legendary fishing reel,"

"Wow, that's really cool."

With that Noctis made his mind, **_"It's just for a while and I can play hooky just for one day,"_ **he stepped forward and he gently cleared his throat, it caught the attention of his schoolmates. The two male students looked at him and they recognized him as they bowed their heads.

"Hi…' Noctis murmured, "Sorry but I heard your conversation, can you give me the direction to Galdin Quay. I'm planning to go there myself,"

The two students looked at each other for a while and turned their attention to the Prince, who's scratching the back of his head.

"Sure, do you have a phone, I can share with you the coordinates,"

"Yes, I have one," Noctis said as he pulled out his phone from his pocket.

It just took a few minutes for the male student to share the map coordinates from his phone to the Prince's phone.

Noctis smile went he saw the coordinates on his phone, "Thanks"

"Your welcome, Your Highness," the male student said as he pocketed his phone, "Do you want to go with us, we're planning to go there tommo-" the student gazed up but the prince was nowhere to be found.

"Where the prince?"

"He just left in a hurry,"

"That weird"

His friend just shrugged his shoulders and went to pay for his lunch.

Noctis when outside the school courtyard and towards the gate.

_**"Oh wait I should tell Prompto,"**_ he thought again and he stopped as he remembered that Prompto is always so honest and too afraid to disobey the rules. He knew that Prompto would stop him and tell Ignis what he was planning. Noctis wiped out his phone and looked at the coordinate. "Sorry Prompto, I need to do this," Noctis said to himself as he walked across the crosswalk and towards the City Central.

_**"Hmmm...maybe I should get a weapon just in case."** _Noctis thought as he stopped in front of the weapon shop. "Hello sir," Noctis called out the shopkeeper who's back turned against him and the shopkeeper turned around and looked at him.

"Is there anything you want young man?"

"Yes, I'm a small broadsword," Noctis said.

The shopkeeper raised an eyebrow towards him but dismissed it and handed him a broadsword. "That will be 150 Gil."

The prince handed him the money and took the weapon. He went towards an alleyway so that he could use his power to unsummon the weapon away. After that, he went towards the bus stop. He waited for the bus to take him to Galdin Quay. When the bus arrived and the people started getting on, Noctis stepped on the bus when he saw a crownsguard sitting on one of the chairs. He ducked and went back outside.

"This won't do, they will notice me," he looks around. "I need to go there in a different way," He eyes widened when he saw it. A delivery truck with a canvas as cover and an open back, stop at the intersection. He saw the bold lettering at the side, Galdin Quay. He smiled and went towards it and climbed up and hid behind one of the crates.

_**"Sorry, Ignis,"**_ the light turned green and the truck went moving again.

**…**

Back at the Citadel, Ignis sneezed and dropped all the documents he was holding as he pushed the elevator button. He looked down to see the blue folder that he should have left in the Prince's apartment. He accidentally grabbed by mistake. He took a deep breath and arranged his glasses before kneeling down.

"I'm not my regular self today," Ignis said to himself as he started collecting the scattered papers. His right-hand hovered over the blue folder that now opens wide. His eyes fixed on the person's photo that was clipped on a personal file. The photo is of a female with black hair and brown eyes. By the looks of it, she is the same age as Prince.

"Astraea Lumina" he whispered the name as he read it. Ignis knew that he was forbidden to read it so he closed it and gathered the remaining papers up and stood up. The elevator door opened and he went inside, he pushed the floor where the hall of records is located, it was on the 10th floor. The sound of the elevator music did not stop his mind wondering about the girl in the report. He wanted to read more about it but his conscience stopped him. But in the end, his curiosity took over and looked up to see the CCTV camera pointed at him. He moved closer towards the door where there was a blind spot where he opened the folder and continued reading it. He grabbed the photo and looked at it closely.

"That's weird," he said to himself, "why does she look familiar?" he lowered the photo and read the personal file.

* * *

Name: Astraea Lumina

Age:14

Birthday: September 22, M.E 735

"She is one month younger than the prince," he gazed up to see that is still on floor 9, he looked down again and continued reading.

Birthplace: Unknown

Origin: Unknown

Background: Adopted daughter of Zack Lumina and Aerith Auburnbrie Lumina

* * *

"Lumina & Auburnbrie?" Ignis stopped as he tried to remember where he had heard or read those surnames and it dawned on him that they are the surnames of the top family of Hunter in Lucis.

"Impressive background,"

Ignis continued reading the personal file, he raised an eyebrow when he read the final notes on the file.

_The child has a rare ability, she is able to summon and control the element of fire. We still don't know where it comes from. She is hunted by the empire because of that she is being housed inside the Citadel and being monitored by the leader of the crownsguard._

Ignis wanted to continue reading when the elevator door opened and he reached his destination. He closed the folder and stepped out, outside the elevator and looked down at the folder and pondered.

_**"I need to learn more about this girl, maybe I could ask the king,"**_ Ignis pushed the elevator button again to get to the 4th floor where the throne room is located. When the elevator door opened and after stepping inside the whole Citadel when on lockdown and the elevator stopped working. He looked down the corridor and saw the emergency light flickering.

"What is happening here?" Ignis stepped out of the elevator and arranged his glasses and walked towards the fire exit

**…**

30 minutes ago Astraea took a deep breath and slumped her forehead on the table.

"I'm bored…"

Both of her maids heard her whining and stopped what they were doing and went to her.

"Are you okay Lady Astraea?

"Yes, I'm okay," she sat upright and smiled at them, "I told you don't call me lady anymore, Astraea is fine,"

Both maids looked at each other and nodded at her.

"Can I go outside and walk in the hall just for a little bit?"

"Sorry, Astraea but your mother told us that you're not allowed to go outside, and did you finish your schoolwork?"

"Yes, I did, so can I go outside?"

"Sorry, but the answer is still no, Astraea,"

"Oh come on Mecia," Astraea looked at her. "My mother won't know if you don't tell her.

Mecia turned at her sister Claudia like there are talking with their eyes, Astraea survey her two maids after becoming close friends she learned that they are twins, both of them have white hair and looks very identical to one another, the only thing the separate them are their eyes, Mecia has yellow eyes while Claudia has red eyes.

Both sisters turn to her and said in unison "No"

Astraea slumped her forehead on the table again and exhaled, "Fine, I will not go outside, but can you get me a snack? I'm hungry."

"That we can do, what do you want Astraea?" Claudia asked.

"Chocolate cake and coffee,"

"Coffee again? The king has told us to limit your coffee consumption," Mecia said as she gathered three empty coffee mugs on the table and put them on the tray. "Do you have anything in mind,"

"Fine," Astraea exclaimed in disappointment, "Can you brew me Peppermint tea instead? and please brew a lot, I want to share it with the two of you,"

The sisters bowed down and smile, "Of course Lady Astraea,"

"Hey, what did I say don't call me lady anymore," Astraea said as she stood up and followed her maids out the door.

"Don't go anywhere Astraea, we will be right back," Claudia said as she closed the door behind her.

"Like I'm going anywhere," Astraea said to herself and opened the door just to find four guards standing outside, one of them noticed her.

"Going somewhere Lady Astraea?" the guard said in a stern voice.

Astraea gulped and smiled shyly at him and closed the door again. She went to her bed and threw herself and slumped on the bed facedown.

"Ahhhh…." she screamed in her pillow.

After a minute of just laying down, she turned her face into the direction of the terrace when she got an idea. She jumped out of her bed and walked towards the terrace and looked down at the saw a platform big enough to walk and that leads to lower floors. She saw an opportunity, she turned around and grabbed all the blanket she could find inside her bedroom and tie it together. After securing all the knots are safe and secure she went towards the terrace and tied it on the railing and threw the rest down and side of the building. She looked down to see it is a long drop that she has to be careful because her room is located on the 10th floor.

"This is the stupidest thing you will do Astra," she whispered and looked down and frowned to see the dress she was wearing. "This won't do, I need to change,"

She went to her dresser and changed into the clothes her uncle had given her, a standard hunter uniform. Black sleeveless blouse and blue pants with knee-high platform boots. She opened one of the dressers to find a red and black high-low lace-up coat that was given to her by the King. After changing she grabbed her saddlebag and put essential things like towels, water bottles, potion, and Gil. She grabbed her dagger, Aerith has given it back to her last week, she slid it inside her left boots and tie her hair up into a high ponytail using a red ribbon, after looking at herself in the mirror, she walked towards the terrace again when she heard the door open, without thinking she drove down under the bed and waited.

"Lady Astraea your snack is here," Mecia said as she put down the tray on the coffee table, "Astraea where are you?" she walked towards the bedroom and looked around, "Astraea!' Mecia went towards the bathroom door and swung it open, "Claudia come here!"

Claudia entered with a tray of tea and sat it down on the table "What's wrong?"

"Astraea she is not here!"

"What!"

Both sisters started to panic, Mecia went to bend down and about to look under the bed and she heard her sister gasped. She looked at her and saw her on the terrace. She went to her and saw a rope made of blankets.

"Do you think sh-"

Claudia cut her off, "She wouldn't do this"

"You know Astraea, she is capable of doing this," Mecia turned around and shouted "Guards! Come here!"

All four guards went inside, "Astraea is gone!" Mecia exclaimed.

"What! That is impossible, we are guarding the door, she would be able to get through us," One of the guards said as he looked around the room.

"Well, she did not use the door this time!" Mecia passed them and walked out the door.

All four guards were baffled and looked at each other, Claudia noticed it and pointed the rope in the terrace. All four men went towards it and looked down.

"What are you waiting for?" The guards look back at Claudia, "We need to find her now!"

The guards scramble to their feet and run out of the room.

"We need to tell the Marshall about this," one of the guards said.

"He is going to kill us if he knew we mess up again,"

"I take my chances, let's split up to cover more ground, I call the marshall,"

The other three nodded and went in different directions. Inside Astraea's room, Claudia called the rest of the maids using radio and told them what happened and exited the room. Silent filled the air moments later, Astraea came out under the bed.

"Well that went well that I expected," Astraea whispered to herself, she went towards the door and peeked outside to see no one, she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, she put her hood on and went outside and walked slowly towards the fire exit. Halfway there when the alarm went off, she panicked and sprinted towards the stairway when she turned the corner she collided with someone. Papers were thrown in the air and landed in front of her.

"Sorry," she stated as she gathered all the papers, "I'm in a hurry I did not mean to run into you," she looked up to see a pair of emerald eyes. It was beautiful even under those glasses. She stopped and stared at the man in front of her, Ignis stared back, not saying a word. As he was taking a back, how beautiful the girl in front of him was. He could not think properly, he could not speak or even move. Astraea heard frantic footsteps behind them that when she snapped out of her trance and handled him all the paper.

"Sorry I need to go," she stood up and sprinted towards the stairway.

Ignis stayed crouched down with papers in hand, as he thought about what happened. He slowly stood up and went to his dawn on him.

"Wait, that's her!" he exclaimed as he started to follow her. He reached the fire exit door and opened it, it was locked. He tried to open it again but it is no use is locked shut. He heard footsteps behind him and saw two Crownsguards and one maid. They were panting and trying to catch their breath.

"Good afternoon, Sir Scientia," the maid bowed to him, "Have you seen a girl?"

Ignis blinked "Yes I have, why?"

"Well we're trying to find her, where did she go?"

"Down the stairs, but it locked," Ignis said as he arranged his glasses.

The two crown guards try to push the door open but no use, one guard started to kick the door but still no use, it's not budging, the other guard called the information in his radio.

"Lady Astraea, is going down, wait for her in the fire exit,"

_**"Lady Astraea?"**_ Ignis raised an eyebrow.

"Let's use the other stairway," one of the guards stated as he walked off.

"Thank you, Sir Scientia," The maid bowed to him and left.

"Wait I come with you," Ignis called out as he followed the trio.

Astraea was able to reach the 1st floor of the Citadel, after going through every door she locked it and melted the doorknob. She swiftly and quietly breezes through the empty hallway looking for the CCTV and avoiding it. When she heard footsteps behind her she went inside a room and closed the door behind her. She looked around to see that the room is huge, and it looks like it's a training room. She walked in the middle of the room to look for a way out when a firm hand grabbed her right wrist and turned her around.

"Who are you! What are you doing here?" a tall man wearing a black uniform with a military-style black haircut and amber eyes question her in an authoritative tone.

Astraea stepped back but the man grabbed her other wrist and brought her close to his body, Astraea started to panic, the man noticed it and tightened his grip on her wrist. Astraea took a deep breath. She closed her eyes when she opened it again. It is now crimson. Without giving a second thought she turned her hand up and out, she was able to reverse the hold on him and kicked him in the groin area. The man knelt down to the ground groaning in pain. Without giving the man any time to recover Astraea did a somersault and kicked him in the chin he flew backward and was knocked out.

After landing successfully she turned to the man, she put her hands together and she said sheepishly "Sorry," she about to grab a potion inside her saddlebag when she heard someone at the door, she quickly closed her bag and ran towards the open window and jumped out.

Ignis opened the door to find his friend unconscious in the middle of the room.

"Gladiolus!" Ignis called out as he went toward him. Ignis gently tapped Gladiolus on the cheek with the back of his finger, "Wake up,"

Gladiolus eyes spring wide open and he bolted upright. "Oh… that hurt like hell," Gladiolus rubbed his chin. "That girl sure packs a punch,"

"So you meet her," Ignis held a hand to Gladiolus.

Gladio stood up and dusted his uniform and turned to Ignis, "Yeah, so who is she?"

"I don't know, but I know the Crownsguards are looking for her as we speak," Ignis looked around and saw a red ribbon flying in the wind caught up in the window sill. He went to it and grabbed it and looked out the window.

"She might have not gotten too far,"

Gladiolus walked over, "So what are we waiting for, let go find this girl," he jumped out the window followed by Ignis.

Astraea found herself walking around the Citadel ground when she came across a garden. She investigated it and saw a tunnel and lead to somewhere, she went inside it and followed it, a few minutes later she found herself outside the Citadel in a small wooded area.

"Finally," she bellowed as she raised her hands in victory. "Hmm...so where to start?" she murmured as she pulled her hood up and walked towards the busy street.

**…**

Back at the Citadel in Astraea bedroom King Regis was sitting in silence in one of the armchairs while Clarus is standing beside him.

"How did Astraea able to get away, there are four of you and one of her!"

Cor is glaring and shouting at the four Crownsguards while Aerith was just standing near the window and watching the Marshall lose his composure.

"Apologize Marshall, but Lady Astraea is very smart and cunning, she able to trick us,"

"I don't want your excuses, find her now!" Cor said as he waved his hand to dismiss the guards.

Went the four guards left the room, Cor pinched the bridge of his nose and sat down on the sofa.

"Your daughter is really something Aerith,"

"I was surprised that she waited this long before doing something like this," Aerith said while looking down at the city.

"Well that's Astraea for you she keeps surprising everyone," Reno said as he stepped inside from the terrace.

"Good day Your majesty," Reno greeted the king with a bow.

"You seem very calm for her guardian," Clarus stated as he looked the guardian in the eye. Reno just shrugged his shoulders, "Been guarding her all my life, I'm used to it," he grabbed a slice of cake on the table and started eating it while leaning against the fireplace.

"Knowing Astarea, she will return after doing a little sightseeing, don't worry, as long she does not go outside the city she is fine,"

"Are you sure Reno? I already sent some glaives after her," Regis spoke up and glanced at him.

"Kingsglaive huh," Reno said as he put down the empty plate, "This will be fun,"

All of them look at Reno who is now grinning ear to ear.

**...**

Outside the Citadel, Astraea is busy looking at the stores but still in high alert for the Crownsguards. If she saw one she will go and walk in a different direction. She saw a bookstore and went in and bought a map of the city and the Kingdom.

"So this is the crown city," she said while looking down, "The plaza looks fun," she closed the map and started to walk towards the direction of the plaza, she came across Lucis Regal Academy.

_**"Wow so this is the school,"** _she looked through the gate when she heard someone calling a name.

"Noct where are you!" a blonde student shouted as he ran across the school courtyard.

_**"Looks like I'm not the only one playing hooky,"** _she smiled as she continued to walk away. She saw a shortcut in the back alley and took it. She stopped to have a drink, she sat down on a crate beside a dumpster. After drinking a mouthful, the hair on the back of her neck stood up. She looked around when she felt straight energy in the air and she jumped out from her sitting position. After a second a flash of blue light appeared where she was sitting and a man wearing a black hood appeared in thin air. The man's brown eyes widen under his visor. Before the man could react she cast fira on him, it hit him in the stomach and sent him towards one of the dumpsters.

"Where did he come from!" Astraea shouted as she ran in the opposite direction.

"Libertus come in, what is your status?" a female asked in his earpiece.

Libertus groin as he stood up, he put his hand to his ear to activate his earpiece. "I found her and lost her,"

"Where are you and are you okay?"

"No not good," Libertus said as he held his stomach to see a burn mark.

"What do you mean, what happened?"

"Well don't tell Nyx about this Crowe, but I got thrown in the trash" Libertus replied as he picked a banana peel off his shoulder.

"You're losing your charm Libertus, you let a girl beat you," a male voice entered the conversation.

"Oh, shut up Nyx!" Libertus snorted as he walked out of the alleyway. There he was met by a female glaive.

"What happened to you?" the female glaive lowered her hood, her brown hair flew in the wind.

"The captain did not say anything about the girl having power like us?"

Crowe raised an eyebrow toward him, "She did this to you?"

"Yup, she able to sense my present too,"

"That's weird, maybe she is a new recruit, so where did she go?"

"South, hey Hero she is coming your way, so be prepared," Libertus called to his earpiece.

"Thanks for the heads up Libertus." Nyx looked down to see Astraea, running in the alleyway towards him. He warped down and used his power to shield himself and made him invisible. He positioned himself in the middle of the alleyway and pulled out a sleeping potion.

"Okay then, come this way Princess," Nyx whispered, "This we will a piece of cake," Nyx smiled as Astraea is only a few yards away. But it disappeared when he saw Astraea stop abruptly and look at him. Astraea brown eyes meet his blue eyes.

**_"Wait, is she able to see me?"_ **Nyx stepped forward, Astarea stepped backward when Nyx took another step, Astraea threw a bottle at him. He dispelled his invincibility spell and took his Kukris out and cut the bottle in half. The liquid in the bottle splash on his face, seconds later he felt sleepy.

"Sleeping potion" Nyx stumbled and leaned on the dumpster beside him. That when Astraea ran past him their eyes met, he reached his hand out to grab Astarea's coat but he missed it.

"Wait!"

Astarea did not stop and ran off, Nyx couldn't fight the potion and slid down on the pavement as sleep took him.

"Ok, ok, don't panic Astra," Astarea said to herself as she stopped at an intersection. "If I'm not mistaken that those are the members of Kingsglaive and I just put one to sleep and burn the other one, nice going Astra" she mocked herself as she looked back at the alleyway.

"I'm in a lot of trouble now," she inhaled and exhaled.

"What to do, what to do," she started pacing that when she saw a truck with bold lettering at the side,

"Golden Quay," she whispered the name, "Well I'm going to be grounded for life anyway so why not take a vacation," a smile ran across her face, she slowly walked towards the back of the truck and hop in as the truck moved away.

**...**

Back at the Citadel, King Regis has ordered the crown city on high alert because he received a report that the Prince is missing too. He ordered Cor to let Crownsguards look for the Prince while ordered Drautos captain of the Kingsglaives to deploy all the glaives to look for Astraea. Aerith, Clarus and the King are now waiting for any information about the whereabouts of the two. While Reno is just reading Astraea dream journal while leaning back on a chair putting up both his feet on the study stable.

"Why are you so calm, Astraea is now missing for an hour now guardian!" Clarus said as he walked to Reno and grabbed the journal. Reno glared at him and took the journal back.

"Your overreacting Shield, she being a kid, let her have some fun and my name is not Guardian it's Reno" while waving the book journal in Clarus's face.

"Well, you're the one who said that we need to protect her and keep her in the dark," Clarus crossed his arms and glared back at him.

"Well I said to keep her in the dark, not literary keep on hidden or locked her away, that is the reason why she escapes she doesn't like being locked away,"

"I apologize for that Reno, I did go overboard in keeping her safe," Regis stated.

"You don't have to apologize, Your majesty. After knowing what she has been through, you're just doing what is best for her, just like her brothers back then, but please let her go outside and be free," Reno said as he walked towards the king who's still sitting in the armchair.

"So your saying let her go outside the city?"

"No, that too dangerous the empire is targeting her too and the daemons will find her. Just let her be free and don't lock her up here, just like the prince, let her experience being a normal teenager,"

"That's our plan, we are already preparing a house so that we can live outside the Citadel and she will attend the academy next week" Aerith informed him.

"Well that's great to hear," Reno smiled at Aerith. "Let just wait, she will return after dark, she knows her boundaries."

They stayed silent when the door opened to see Marshal Leonis carrying a tablet.

"Your Majesty, we found lead but you're not going to like it,"

The Marshal opened the television and connected the tablet and showed CCTV footage of the Prince, going out of school and sneaking inside a truck.

Regis browns frowned, he tightened his grip on his cane, "Where is the truck headed?"

"Outside the city, Your Majesty, But don't worry we already send the glaives after the truck,"

"Who many?"

"Twenty Your Majesty,"

"Is that excessive? I thought the glaives were looking for Astraea" Reno asked his head poke behind the Cor to see better. The Marshal looks at him and sighed.

"Astarea is with him,"

King Regis's eyebrows raised, "What do you mean?"

Cor pushed a button to show another footage that showed Astraea going inside the same trunk.

"Well, would you look at that, great minds think alike" Reno snickered as he watched the footage.

"This not a laughing matter Reno, that truck has already left the city and headed to the outskirt of the Kingdom,"

The amusement on Reno's face faded as his eyes narrowed at the Marshall. "So you mean Astarea is now outside the city?"

"Yes, as we speak,"

"You should have said that in the first place!" Reno panicked and went towards the terrace.

Before any of them could react Reno's appearance changed and into his bird form flew off.

...

Outside the city, the truck is now traveling slowly. Astraea parted the canvas for her to see where they are now. She saw only desert plans and as they passed a road sign saying Longwythe's peak coming up ahead. She looked at the map and smiled to see that they are going in the right direction.

"Golden Quay here I come.."

Astraea put the map inside her saddlebag when she heard a sound coming from behind her. It sounds like snoring, she quietly and carefully goes where the sound is coming from. That when she saw a male teenager wearing a school uniform sleeping. She looked at the boy as she felt that she had seen him before.

_**"Hmm, why do you look familiar" **_she bent down in front of Noctis she about to brush the prince raven hair away, Noctis blue eyes snapped open and grabbed her hand, Astraea yelled and backed away and without thinking she kicked him in the chest, Noctis went straight through the canvas he was able to hold on Astraea hand and they both fell off the moving truck and rolled in the sandy ground.

"Ouch…that hurts," Noctis whined as he pushed himself up and looked around to see Astraea running towards him.

"Are you okay?" she said in a worried voice, "I'm very sorry I did not mean to kick you," she held her hand up to him.

Noctis looked at her intently and grabbed her hand and stood up.

"I'm okay, what about you?" Noctis asked as he brushed his hair to dust the sand away.

"I'm fine, but-" Astraea friendly voice swift into condescending one. "If you did not surprise me and grabbed my arm, we should not be in this situation in the first place and stuck in the middle of nowhere." she put her hand on her hips and glared at him.

Noctis looked at her with shock expression, "Excuse me? You're the one who kicked me, why is it my fault?" he crossed his arms.

As the two bickered, they did not notice a red bird flew above them and landed in the electrical post. Back at the Citadel King Regis is ready to leave Astraea room when the flames in the fireplace burst in a larger one. They all turn their attention to the flames as it started to show a picture, a few seconds it shows what Reno is seeing in his point of view. They saw Astraea and Noctis in the desert bickering.

Regis breathed a sigh of relief to see his son and Astraea safe.

"Found them," Reno spoke using the flames.

"Thank the Astrals," Aerith said, "Where are you?"

"We are near The Longwythe's peak,"

"They are able to go that far" Cor walked over the fireplace to get a better view and saw the prince have several cuts on his face. "His highness is hurt,"

Regis's face turned into a frown to see his son's wounds, "Reno what happened?"

"So what I heard Astraea kicked the Prince because he suddenly grabbed her hand and they both fell off the truck." Reno chuckled softly, "Astraea did not change one bit, she was impulsive as ever." They could hear Reno's laughter in their end.

"It's not a laughing matter Guardian," Clarus interjected.

"I know I'm sorry, but it reminded me of the good old days," Reno exhaled deeply, "Not only the prince looked like Somnus but he acted like him too."

Aerith looked at the king to see his reaction but Regis just kept a straight face.

"Can you go near them? I want to hear what they are saying," Regis requested.

"As you wish, Your majesty," Reno flew near them and continued watching.

Back at the desert, the Fire Maiden and King of Light continue their fight, no one backing out.

"You suddenly grabbed me, I panicked and kicked you!" Astraea voice getting louder by the minute, "It one's instinct to react like that,"

"You mean to kick someone in the chest!" Noctis shouted back. "What are you doing in the truck in the first place and it's not good to watch someone sleep!"

Astraea scoffed "First of all, who sleeps in the back of a truck and second just like you, I'm hitchhiking," she straightened up and crossed her arms.

Noctis inhaled and exhaled and looked at Astraea who's glaring at him, "Okay okay," the prince sighed, "Sorry I grabbed you, I was surprised to see you in the truck,"

Astraea face softened, "I'm sorry too," she looked down and kicked a pebble, "I'm a bit jumping and paranoid, I don't want anyone touching me," She looked up to see Noctis glistening blue eyes as the ray of the sun reflected on it. Noctis' face suddenly changed into Somnus and back.

"You look like him," Astraea murmured under her breath still looking at Noctis, The Prince did not hear her and looked at her in question.

"Hello, are you okay?" he said while waving his right hand in Astraea's face.

Astraea snapped her train of thought and shook her head, "Yes, I'm okay, what about you?" she pointed at the cut in his face.

"I'm fine," Noctis touched the cut on his face he flinched involuntarily.

"You're not okay," Astraea ramage inside her saddlebag, "Here takes this, you feel much better," while handling Noctis, a potion.

Noctis reluctantly took the potion and broke it, his body glows green and the cut on his face disappears.

"So I'm Astraea Lumina, What is your name?" She gave him a warm smile.

Noctis looked at her bewildered, "You don't know me?"

"Should I?" she questioned back.

Noctis' eyes widened to hear her response, she was the very first person who asked him his name, he was taken aback for he expects her to know who he is. That he is the Crown Prince but her action towards him said she was telling the truth.

"Well, that explains her attitude toward me,"

"Well, are you going to tell me or not, it is very rude not to tell someone your name after hearing theirs," Astraea said while tapping her right foot as she put her hand on her hips.

"Sorry, you can call me Noct," he held his hand up to him and smiled.

Astraea smiled back and shook his hand, "Nice to meet you Noct, I'm sorry about early, can you forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive, we both are at fault," Noctis laughed. "Looks like we both running away from something,"

"Yup, The Crown city is great in all but it kindly bit-"

"Boring," they both said in unison.

They looked at each other in silence and burst out laughing.

"So where are you going?" Noctis said as he started to walk.

"To Golden Quay, what about you?" She walked parallel to him.

"Me too!" he remarked.

_"Look like this is fate." _Astraea smiled,_ "I'm sure there is a reason that we met. Everything is decided by fate. A destiny that been determined."_

Noctis burst out laughing "What are you saying?"

"Don't know, but it sounds cool right?"

Noctis nodded "Let go, I got a fish to catch"

Astraea smiled as they started walking towards the direction on the sea while Reno followed them. Back at the Citadel King Regis is watching the two enjoying themselves while talking and walking not minding the heat of the desert plain.

"Want us to go get them, Your Majesty?" Cor asked to pull out his phone to call Drautos.

"No," king Regis held his hand to stop the Marshal, "Look like them enjoying themselves. Let them have a moment to talk after all they are family,"

"The King is right," Reno piped up, "Even two millennia have passed the bond of family never fades." he continued, "Is not the meeting I plan for both of them, but this will do,"

"Okay then, don't let them out of your sight Reno," Aerith said.

"Don't worry, I will not, but-" Reno stopped flying and perched himself on a tree behind the two. "Looks like we going to see if they have what it takes,"

"What do you mean Reno?" Aerith asked.

Reno gazed forward to see a pack of sabertusk in the distance.

"You need to warm them, don't let them interact with the sabertusks."

"No," Reno retorted.

"What! Clarus shouted, "You need to protect them, guardian, that your duty,"

"I know what my duty is, but they will have to learn to work together after all this is their fate as the Fire Maiden and The King of Light." Reno flapped his wings, "Finally the prophecy is being fulfilled. This is the first step they are going to take for them to save Eos."

King Regis, Aerith, Cor and Clarus held their breath as the sabers are now yards away from them as Noctis and Astraea took a fighting stance.

"Hey, Noct can you fight?" Astraea glanced at Noctis as she drew out her dagger from her left boot and held it close to her chest while pointing it towards the sabertusks.

"Yup," Noctis held his arm in a flash of blue light and a board sword appeared in his hand. He took a guarding stance and looked at Astraea. Astraea was surprised at first but returned her attention towards the pack of sabertusk in front of them.

"Hey Noct, I know this is weird but, you want to make a bet?"

"Sure," he replied enthusiastically.

"Whoever killed the most saber wins,"

"What is the prize?" Noctis took a step forward.

"The loser will have to treat the winner whatever she like,"

"Why are you implying you're going to win?"

"Because I am!" Astraea exclaimed as she launched forward striking one of the sabertusk in the chest and killing it in an instance.

Noctis eyes widened to see her quick action, a smirk appeared in his face.

"This is going to be fun," he said as he prepared himself to fight.

Back at the Citadel at Crystal Chamber, Somnus is his spirit form is standing and looking at the glowing crystal he smiled sadly and muttered.

_**"When darkness veils the world, The Flame, and the Light will be called once more. The bond that has forgotten will be one and the call of the Astrals shall be heard."**_

He looked at the direction of the desert. "Good luck my dear sister," Somnus whispered as his spirit faded away.

* * *

**_A/N:_** If anyone is wondering, Mecia and Claudia are both final fantasy characters, they are Ultimecia and The Cloud Of Darkness. Just picture them as normal people. They will be appearing in later chapters as the story continues.

THANK YOU! Hope you enjoy this and have a wonderful Day!

Next chapter _The Champion of the Astrals, Ifrit's Flame and Bahamut's Light_


	11. Chapter 9

**The Champion of the Astrals, Ifrit's Flame and Bahamut's Light**  
_"We were chosen, but what were we chosen for?"-Seven (Final Fantasy Type-0)_

* * *

King Regis took a deep sigh of relief after watching Astraea kill the last sabertusk. As the people in the room relaxed with him as they continued watching the flames.

Back on the Longwythe desert, Astraea pulled out the dagger from the chest of the sabertusk she just killed second ago and put it back on its sheath and put it inside her left boot again.

"That six for me and 5 for you Noct, I win!" she said triumphantly as she looked behind her to see Noctis bending down his hands on his knees and panting.

"That's not fair, you had a head start," Noctis glanced at her while catching his breath.

"Speaking of not fair, what about you using a sword while I only have a dagger," Astraea said as she ravaged inside her satchel. "Not only that you have the advantage in weaponry, but you also have that skill where you can warp around." Astraea paused and gaze at Noctis who now back on his feet and looking at her, "Where do you get that skill Noct?" she asked her hands still inside her satchel.

Noctis averted his eyes, "Well, that's..." he scratched the back of his head as he remembered the fight early when he used his warping ability to saved Astraea when a sabertusk attacked her from behind, Astraea thank him and they continue to fight off the remaining sabertusk side by side.

"That skill is from…" he trailed off as he does not want to tell Astraea the truth that he is the Crown Prince and he is born with that power, he tried to come up with a lie to tell her when he heard Astraea called to him.

"Noct heads up!"

Noctis turned to her as Astraea threw him bottled water and he was able to catch it. "Thanks," he twisted the cap open and drank half of it.

"Are you a kingsglaive in training?" Astraea said as she threw a towel to him this time.

"Yes," he caught the towel and wiped the sweat on his forehead.

"Really! that's so cool,"

Noctis can see the excitement in Astraea brown eyes, he smiled at her, _**"Phew, that's one way to avoid the topic,"** _

"Does the Kingsglaives accept everyone willy nilly?" Astarea said as she looked down at the map on her hand.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Noctis asked as he walked beside her.

Astraea looked at him and smiled, "I thought Kingsglaves needed to be quick and agile and ready for anything," Astraea gazed at him from head to toe. "Maybe I heard it wrong," she said still smiling and looking at the map again. "To be honest you don't look Kingsglaive material."

Noctis scoffed, "For your information, I'm always ready but as you said, I'm a trainee, still have a lot to learn," the Prince said as he crossed his arms and glared at Astraea.

Astraea turned to him and burst out laughing, "I'm only joking Noct,"

Noctis' anger disappeared as he saw her smiling. The Prince doesn't why that he fell very close to her as if they had been friends from the very start. He could not explain his feelings but he liked it.

"Well it's not a very good joke," Noctis let out a puff of frustration.

Astraea just smiles and held a peace sign. Noctis shook his head and lowered his arms.

Back at the Citadel….

"They act like they are siblings," Aerith said.

"More like a little sister fighting with his big brother," Clarus interject.

"Of course they are," Reno said using the flames. "After all their relationship is like that, they are family by blood," Reno smiled as he continues watching the two. "Even if they don't know it yet but their hearts are already connected"

"Do you want me to go get them personally, Your Majesty" Cor asked.

Regis nodded "That will be great Marshal, please do,"

Cor bowed down, "Right away, Your Majesty,"

"I go with you Cor," Aerith called out as she followed him out the door.

King Regis sighed again and looked back at the flames to see Astraea and Noctis walking again.

**…**

Back in the desert….

"It's still a long walk from here to get to the Golden Quey, Noct," Astraea stopped at the side of the road while reading the map.

"So what now?"

"There a rest point up ahead, we can rest there a bit and continue our journey,"

"Ok then, let go," Noctis walked past her, she followed him after putting the map inside the side pocket of her coat. Reno kept flying above them. The heat of the sun is now affecting the two teens as their walking started to get slower.

"It's hot," Noctis whined as he wiped the beads of sweat on his forehead.

"You said it," Astraea said.

"Are we there yet?" Noctis stopped and glanced at her.

"Nope, there is still one mile,"

"Really? I'm beat," Noctis said as he sat on a rock. "Do you have more water?"

"Sorry, that's the last one," Astraea said as she looked down to see a shadow of a bird flying above them, she looked up and saw a red bird encircling them from above. She saw the rainbow feathers on its wings and the three long tail feathers

'Beautiful,' she whispered.

That when a truck came out from the horizon.

"Hey a truck, maybe they can give us a ride," Astraea piped up.

Noctis stayed seated and looked at the truck.

Astraea happily waved her hand in the air as the truck came near them. It stopped in front of them. At the truck stop, they saw that it was a yellow tow truck. The passenger window rolls down and a teenager with curly blonde hair and olive green eyes greeted them with a smile.

"Hiya! Do you need a ride,"

"Yes please," Astraea said as she gestured Noctis to stand up.

Noctis just looked at her, "Do your parents ever tell you not to ride in strangers' car?"

"Really," Astraea raised an eyebrow, "We both sneaked up in someone's truck an hour ago and you're saying it now, have fun walking then Noct," Astraea walked towards the truck as the teen opened it for her.

"Hello I'm Astraea," she smiled.

"Hiya I'm Cindy and this is my paw-paw," Cindy gestured toward the old man in his late 40's in the driver's seat.

Astraea smiled at him and bowed her head, "Hello sir-" Astraea trailed off.

"You can call me Cid young lady, so where is Y'all heading too?"

"To Golden Quay,"

"Oh darn we not going that way, but we can take Y'all and drop by the rest area,"

"That would be perfect,"

"Ok, then Cindy scooch over,"

Cindy happily scooched over to give space.

"Ok then bye, Noct" Astraea glanced back at the prince who is still sitting.

"Hey wait! I'm coming with you"

Astraea scooched beside Cindy, as Noctis sat down at the window and closed the door as Cid started the truck.

"Why Y'all heading to Golden Quay, are you two on a date?" Cindy asked them.

Astraea cheeks blush, "What no!, his just a friend and we are just heading there for the weekend, right Noct?" Astraea turned to the prince.

"Yes, we are just friends,"

"Ok then," Cindy said as her eyes turned towards the road.

Astraea and Noctis sighed and looked at each other and smiled.

Halfway there Noctis fell asleep again by leaning his head against the door while Astraea and Cindy talked. Cid kept glancing at the sleeping prince. A few minutes later they arrived at the Longwythe rest area. Cid stopped the truck at the front of the Crow's Nest Diner.

"Hey sleeping head, we are here, wake up," Astraea nudged the raven-haired prince.

Noctis bolted up, "Yes, I'm up," he looked around to see they had arrived still yawning. He opened the door and hopped out, Astraea followed him and before closing the door she thanked Cindy and Cid. After saying their goodbyes the truck started to drive away. Astraea kept waving as Cindy's truck disappeared on the horizon.

"Are you always this sleepy Noct, I'm surprised you can sleep anywhere,"

Noctis just walked past her toward the motel.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"To sleep I'm tired,"

"What about our bet, I won, you should treat me, I'm very hungry, I did not eat lunch," Astraea gestured toward the Crow's Nest Diner behind her.

"Later, I'm not that hungry," Noctis replied but his stomach betrayed him and let out a long and loud gurgling sound.

Astarea giggled "Looks like your lying Noct, come on let's eat. I promise I won't spend too much of your money," she grabbed Noctis's right arm and dragged him inside the dinner. Reno landed behind the dinner and changed into his human form and went inside. There he saw the two runaways at the very end sitting in a booth. Reno walked over and sat on the stool near them to hear them as his link using the fireplace is still active and as King continued to watch.

Astraea went towards the counter and ordered two burgers and fries and two cans of Soda and went back and saw Noctis leaning his chin in using his right palm as he stared outside.

"So what is your full name Noct? Astraea asked as she sat opposite of him.

Noctis turned to her wide eye but kept calm.

Reno transferred to the stool at the center of the booth for better hearing. For him to blend in, he ordered a burger as well but continued to glance back at the two.

"I already said my name,"

"Yes, but not your full name, Is not fair you known"

Before Noctis could reply their order arrived.

"Good our food is here, lets it first,"

"Nope," Astraea grabbed Noctis tray and dragged towards her, "Not until you tell me,"

"Fine," Noctis sighed in defeat, "Just promise me you won't freak out okay?"

Astraea nodded at him, Noctis looked around and took a deep breath.

"I'm Noctis Lucis Caelum," he said in a low and hushed tone that Astraea did not hear.

"Your what now?" Astarea stood up and leaned closer to hear him.

"Arghh…" Noctis rubbed his hair frustration, "I said I'm Noctis Lucis Caelum,"

"Noctis Lucis Caelum," Astraea said, "That a nice name," she sat down "That weird you have the same last name as the King," she pushed the tray of food to Noctis, she stopped halfway through as it dawned on her she looked up to see the raven-haired teen resemble King Regis. Her eyes widened in realization and her jaw dropped.

"So yourr thee crownnn Pri-'' she stuttered.

"The Crown Prince" Noctis smiled.

Astraea cheeks turned red as she remembered the things she did to him at the desert." She slammed her forehead on the table "I'm dead, I'm so dead.." she trailed off. "Mother will ground me for life for sure," she mumbled to herself.

"Don't worry you're not in trouble," Noctis said while laughing.

Her eyes glanced up to see Noctis smiling face, she shyly smiled back and sat up.

"I'm very sorry, Your Highness, Please forgive my rudeness," she bowed down.

"I told you it's okay and stop with your Highness stuff, I told you to call me Noct," he grabbed his tray and started eating, "Let's eat before it gets cold," Astraea did what the prince said and started eating too.

While eating the two talk about themselves and they become close friends. Astraea is happily munching away her fries when the Prince asks her a question.

"So you're a Lumina, are you related to Zack Lumina the famous hunter?"

As Astraea heard the name of her beloved father, her eyes started to water and she felt her tears started to trail down her cheeks. She wiped it and lowered her head down.

"Are you okay?" Noctis asked when he saw her sudden change expression.

"Yes, I'm Okay," Astraea said as she forces a smile, "Yes, I'm related to him, he's my father,"

"That's cool, so why are you crying, he is okay?"

Astraea swallowed the lump in her throat, **_"He does not know about the attacked on Galahd?"_**

"It's okay you don't have to tell me," Noctis said as he hands her a tissue paper.

Astraea lowered her head down again and murmured, "He's dead…." she paused, "...The empire killed him," she looked up to see his shocked face.

"I'm sorry," he said softly. "Are you okay?"

Astarea could see the sadness in his eyes, she just forced a smile again as she reached for the tissue paper and used it to wiped her tears away.

"Yes, I'm okay your father," she shook her head, "No, King Regis help me to recover,"

"My father?"

"Yes, The King help me and my mother to recover and move forward,"

"Really? I don't know that,"

_**"He really doesn't know about the attack, should I tell him and tell him about my powers. What if he fears me after knowing what I can do," **_she thought as she lowered her head down again as her tears started to fall again. She jerked back when she felt Noctis right hand wiping her tears away.

"Sorry," the prince said softly. _**"What the hell I did that for!"** _Noctis screams internally and he sat down.

Astraea sat up straight and took a deep breath and without thinking, she said everything to him about the attack on Galahd.

Noctis eyes widened and he closed his hand into a fist as he remembered the report the Ignis had given to him last week about the recent attack. _**"Darn"**_ he bit his lower lip, _**"Specs it right, I should have read that report," **_

Astraea saw the anger in his eyes but she continued she told him about her power and why it has been kept inside the Citadel of the past one and a half months. After telling her story she asked the prince.

"Are you afraid of me, Your Highness?" Astraea asked her voice wavering.

"What! why should I, I have power too,"

"Yes, but your power is from the Astrals, mine is not, I even don't know where they came from," she looked down at her hand, "Maybe the reason why the Niff attack Galahd because of me,"

"Don't say that but if the Niff is really after you just like my father, I will protect you Astraea " he reassured her.

"Thank you Noct," she gave him a gentle smile, "You're just like the stories I read as a child," she giggled.

"What is that?" Noctis titled his head.

"The story where a fair maiden is in trouble and a handsome prince saves her," she giggled, "You're like my knight in shining armor."

"If you say so," Noctis turned to his side to hide the fact that he was blushing.

"So Noct," he turned towards her again. "You're paying right?"

"Yes, why?"

"Can I order another one?" Noctis saw that Astraea had already eaten all her food, "Sure go ahead and order another one for me,"

"Okay and thanks, my Prince-charming," she smiled and went towards the counter.

As Astraea was about to order she bumped into a Reno who's sitting on a stool in front of her.

"Sorry," she said apologetically.

"It's okay no biggie,"

_**"Why are you familiar?"**_ she questioned herself. Astraea stared at Reno for a few seconds then she snapped her train of thought when the person behind the counter asked her.

"Do you want to order young-lady?"

"A yes, please another order of two burgers and fries,"

"Okay coming right up,"

Astraea stayed standing and rocked back and forth using the sole of her feet and looking at the man preparing their food. She felt a gentle tap on her shoulder to see the prince standing behind her.

"Going to the toilet for a bit,"

She nodded and brought her attention back to the man cooking but she kept glancing at the redhead beside her who's eating peacefully. Reno saw this and turned to her.

"Anything I can do for you pretty-lady?" Reno smiled.

"No, sorry for staring" she stopped rocking and stood still but she kept glancing back at Reno. Astarea is not a people person, she never liked meeting new people or talking to a stranger but her gut is telling her to talk to this man so she took a deep breath and turned to him.

"Ah excuse me, have I met you look familiar?"

Reno gulped, _**"**__**Darn did she remember me already?" **_Reno kept looking at her.

"Hello?" Astraea said.

"Yes," Reno blurted out, "I mean no,"

"Really you really look familiar I just can't remember where I meet you," Astraea said as she leaned in. She saw Reno become agitated she quickly backed away bowed her head, "Sorry if I'm bothering you,"

"It's okay, you're not bothering me at all," Reno smiled gently at her.

"I'm Astraea Lumina," she held her hand towards Reno.

Reno reluctantly shook it "Reno Sinclair,"

Before Astraea could reply, their orders were ready. Astraea took one of the trays and went to their table and when she turned around he saw Reno carrying the other one.

"Here you go,"

"Ah thank, Mr. Sinclair,"

"No biggie nice meeting you Ms. Lumina, sorry but I have to go," Reno bowed down and walked past her towards the door.

Astraea was surprised by his action. _**"People here in Lucis are so kind,"**_ she said to herself as she sat down and waited for Noctis to return.

Outside Reno walked behind the diner and put his hands on the wall, "Okay that was close,"

"Why not just tell her guardian," he heard Clarus's voice.

"It's not the right time yet," Reno replied telepathically using the flames. "I want her to live as a normal teen, but it seems that her memory is coming back to her faster than I thought,"

"Isn't it a good thing Reno?" Regis asked.

"Yes, It is a good thing for Astraea to remember who she really is, but trust me, Your Majesty, if Astraea remembers her past there is no stopping her going to her brother to try to save him and that is what I'm trying to avoid. She still needs to recover and master her ability first before doing what she prophecies to do. The same goes for the prince, they are still young and let's not force them."

"Understood, but can you please stay with them Reno, until the Marshal arrives," Regis said.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Reno's body lights up and he turned into his bird form and he flew above the roof of the diner where he heard the conversation between the two teens.

Inside the diner, Noctis returned and continued their conversation while eating.

"So why did you run away if my Father is helping you, are you not happy in the Citadel?"

"No," she shook her head, "I like being in the Citadel all the people are very nice and helpful, I just want to go outside for once for I have not ventured the city, and it's boring inside the Citadel" Astraea happily told Noctis about her time in the Citadel and the time she tried to run away while smiling. Noctis saw how happy Astraea is, he felt relieved and started to smile again. She saw this and continued her story she told him about what happened today and what she did to be able to get out of the city.

"You did what to Gladio?" Noctis burst out laughing, "I can wait until I tease him about this,"

"So his name is Gladio?"

"Yup it short for Gladiolus,"

"I felt bad about him, do you think he's going to be okay?"

"Yes, he will," Noctis said as he wiped his tears away from laughing so hard, "He an Amicitia after all the son of Clarus Amicitia my father's shield,"

After hearing that name Astraea eyes widened and slammed her forehead on the table again. "I'm so DEAD!" she said, "Not only I took down the current shield son and I even took down two Kingsglaive members," she ran her hands into her hair "Mother will be furious, I will never see the light of day again," she whined. "I will be thrown in the dungeon after this,"

Noctis laughed as he saw the state of Astraea and he patted her head, "Now, now it's okay I will visit you in the dungeon if I have free time," Noctis said sarcastically.

Astraea bolted up and pointed a finger at the prince "If I'm going down, I am taking you with me after you ditch school too, I am going to tell the King," she said smiling.

"What!" Noctis bellowed, "Not until I tell you first!"

Reno giggled as he heard the two joking around. Back at the Citadel, Regis smiled too as this is the first time he heard the prince's laughter after the daemon incident 6 years ago.

"Looks like they are going to be best friends," Regis said as he listened to the conversation.

"More like partners in crime Your Majesty," Clarus said sarcastically.

Regis looked at him surprised to hear his joke. Clarus looked down and smiled. Regis just chuckled and continued to watch the flames.

…

Back at the diner, the two have finished their meal at the same time as they stood up to pay.

"Hey, Noct,"

He glanced back at her, "If I can call you Noct you can call me Astra,"

Noctis just nodded back and stop at the cashier and asked for their bill,

"Its 500 Gil," the man in the register said.

He dug into his pocket to find his wallet is missing. His face turned pale and turned to Astraea who was looking at the menu above.

"Hey, Astra!" Noct called her, she did not hear him, Noctis saw diner mint at the counter and threw at her. It hit her in the head and she turned angrily at him.

"What?"

"My wallet is missing,"

"What?" Astraea anger disappeared as she walked to him, "You're joking right?"

"Looks like I drop it in the desert while we fighting those sabertusk"

Her head slumped down and opened her saddlebag to get her wallet, "Fine I'm going to pay for now but-" she looked at him, "You still own me and this is going to your debt," she smiled, "Your Highness, so how much?"

"500 Gil,"

Astarea gulped "Well...there goes my savings," she thought as he hands Noctis the exact change.

"Don't worry I going to pay you and I will treat you whatever you like if we return to Crown city," he handed the Gil to the cashier, "That's If we survived our parents's wraith," their eyes meet and they burst out laughing at their laughter filled the whole diner. The people looked at them bewildered. they noticed this and ran out of the diner. Outside Astraea saw a hunter board post she walked towards it.

"Hey what is that?" Noctis went to her side.

"List of Hunts for hunters," she said. "I love to do one, after all, I'm a certified hunter,"

"Really where is your badge?"

"Here it is" Astraea pulled out her necklace with a red dog tag in it to show it to Prince. "But I'm still at level one, so I can do this hunter especially this one," she pointed at the poster that has a picture of a red giant reward 5,000 Gil.

"Wow that a lot of Gil, do you think we can take it down?"

Astraea scoffed, "No, but you can try," she turned to him, "But it will be your death," Astraea pulled out the map again.

"Maybe when we're older we can defeat that," Noctis said as he stood beside her and looked at the map.

"We are still a long way to go," she gazed up at the sky to see its changing color it's now orange, "It's almost sundown, it's too dangerous to walk around, let stay at the motel for the time being,"

"Okay then miss hunter," Noctis said as he patted her on the back, "Come on lets gets some rest, but you still have to pay for it,"

Astraea let out a puff of frustration, "You know you're the only Prince I know who does not have any money!"

"Well it's your fault, you kick me remember?" Noctis turned to her and smiled.

"You're not going to let me forget about that huh Noct?" Astarea has no choice but to follow him across the streets toward the Motel. After a minute Reno followed them and perch himself above trees.

"How much for two rooms?" Noctis asked.

"That will be 30 Gil for a night but we only have one room left,"

Noctis turn to Astraea who's standing beside him, "It's okay we can share a room,"

Noctis did not complain as he is very tired and needed to sleep. Astraea pulled out her wallet to find that she was not Gil left. She nudged Noctis using her elbow.

"Noct I don't have any Gil left,"

"What? Where will we sleep?"

"Well, there is a camp near by maybe we can sleep there,"

"Arghh, I want to fluff into a soft bed," he whined "But it's better than sleeping here lead to way, Astra,"

After saying to the cashier that they are not taking the room anymore. They started to walk towards the nearby camp the Emelle Haven.

…

They arrived at the haven at the same time the sun in the sky disappeared. Reno perch himself above the cliff looking down at them

"Hey look there is a bonfire," Noctis said, "Can you use your ability to light the fire, Astra?"

Astraea stopped and looked at him, she reluctantly nodded and went beside Noctis. She took a deep breath and held her right hand towards the bonfire "Fire" she whispered but nothing happened so she tried again "Fira."

"Nothing is happening," Noctis said as he bent down.

Astraea let out a puff of frustration and arranged her feet firmly in the ground as her eyes turned crimson. Noctis glanced at her and about to give a comment when Astraea shouted.

"FIRAGA!"

Huge flames burst out of the ground and almost burned the prince. But lucky Noctis was able to warp into safety.

"OMG Noct, are you okay, I'm very sorry I went overboard."

Noctis just shook his head, "It's okay, I'm fine but you really need to master that flames of yours,"

Astraea just looked down "Been trying to but it's hard," she said as she sat down cross-legged on the ground. Noctis went to her side and sat down.

"Don't worry you will," he said while smiling.

Astraea looked at him, she felt a sharp pain in her heart, she suddenly held her chest.

"Are you okay?" the raven-haired asked worriedly.

"Yes," she replied as the pain started to go away, "Maybe I'm just tired."

"Go ahead go to sleep, I will take the first watch,"

"Are you sure?"

"Positive,"

"Okay then I just need a couple of hours of shut-eye then we'll change,"

"Okay then,"

Astraea laid down and used her coat as a pillow. After 10 minutes Astraea fell asleep, Noctis saw that she was shivering so he took off his uniform jacket and covered Astraea with it. He backed away and leaned against a rock and just looked at her sleeping form.

Reno is just watching when he heard the King's voice.

"Reno the marshal and Aerith is already at the rest point, should I send them now,"

"No, not yet let them sleep for a while together,"

"Okay then," Regis replied.

**…**

Early as Astraea looked up to the sky to see the stars started to appear in the velvet sky. A smile ran across her face, "Beautiful," she thought as she turned to her side and drifted to sleep.

_When she opened her eyes she was looking at the velvet sky again this time the stars can't be seen as much as a black cloud covers the night sky. She tries to move but she can't. _

_"Love to see the stars again," _

_She heard a familiar voice, it's the voice of the older Astraea she dreamt about a few weeks ago. It dawned on her that she was dreaming again. She is seeing this from the point of view of the Older Astraea, so she had no choice but to wait and watch what will happen._

_Astraea sat up and stretched her arm in the air, as she looked around._

_"Love the peace and quiet," she whispered to herself._

_Astraea looked at the crackling fire in the bonfire while sitting at the center of a haven in the middle of the desert. (Palmaugh Haven, behind Hammerhead) she opened her brown suede saddlebag beside her and grabbed a notebook made out of leather and old papers. She skipped the pages that have drawings on it and stopped a blank paper. Then she ravaged inside her bag once much to grab a charcoal stick and start sketching the night sky. She frowned when a shadow loomed over her stopping her from sketching._

_"Who's blocking the fir-"_

_She glanced up, the blood in her face drained as she saw the piercing blue eyes of his older brother._

_"Hi, Somnus, what brings you here?" she sheepishly said as she gathered her things and started putting it inside her bag. _

_"I should be the one asking you that..." Somnus said in a stern voice, "How many times we told you not to go outside at night!"_

_Astraea cautiously stood up and said, "Well, to be exact, I went here when there was still sunlight and I just stayed here until sundown, so technically I did not go outside at night." she said, stepping back. _

_Somnus crosses his arms and continued to look at her in annoyance._

_Astraea stepped back again and glanced back, "Ok Bye Somnus," she shouted as she turned around ready to run away but Somnus was able to grab her by the shoulder. _

_"Your no-" Somnus could not finish his sentence when Astraea threw him over her shoulder. The air in his lungs escaped as his back collided on the cold hard ground. Astraea opened her eyes to see her older brother's body lifeless on the ground._

_"Brother!" she screamed, "I am very sorry I don't know what had gotten into me,"_

_Somnus opened his right eye and looked at her, "I'm okay at least you're using what we thought you," he groaned as he sat up. Astraea knelt down and handed him a potion. He gazed at it and looked at Astraea whose face was full of worry._

_"I very sorry Broth-"_

_Somnus laughed "It's okay," he patted her on the head, "Don't worry," he took the potion and shattered it. It healed him in an instant and he stood up and looked down at Astraea who's still on the ground looking downward._

_"I'm very sorry Somnus, I keep causing your trouble," she said in a low tone._

_"Well that's a first you never admit your mistakes," he said while smiling. _

_Astraea gazed up to see her brother smiling face, she smiled back at him and stood up as he held a hand towards her._

_"Okay then let's go home."_

_"No, it's okay let stay here for a while," Somnus said as he walked towards the edge of the haven. _

_"Really! Thanks, Somnus,"_

_As the moon rises in the night sky Astraea and Somnus stay there in silence as they watch the moon and the stars._

_"Hey, Somnus?" Astraea glanced at him as she sat on the edge of the haven swinging her legs back and forth._

_Somnus leaning on a rock opened his right eyes, "What?"_

_'Do you think in the future we can see the stars and the moon again without those pesky dark clouds,"_

_"It's that the reason why you always go out at night just to watch the stars?" he shifted in his seat and looked at his sister._

_"Yup, I love to stargazing," she inhaled and exhaled, "Do you think we can do it?"_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"Our fate, we are the chosen warriors of Light do you think we can fulfill our fate?" _

_"Yes I was wondering about that too, your right we were chosen, but what were we chosen for?"_

_"To save Eos of course and bring the light back in this star,"_

_"So you do know, why are you asking me?"_

_"Well I don't know," she lowered her head and stopped swinging her legs. _

_"I know you, you have something in your mind, come on say it," Somnus said as he walked over and sat down beside her. _

_"Well," she gazed ahead at the darkness, "You and Ardyn, you two had already mastered your ability," she looked at her hands "As for me I still need a lot of practice," _

_"Come one, you will master it someday. Remember that you master the art of sword fighting using a rapier just for a year, I know you can do anything, my dear sister." Somnus nudged her shoulder with his._

_"Your right, with the three of us, You and Ardyn using Bahamut's Light and me using Ifrit's flames. We will save Eos and eradicate the scourge once and for all." _

_They both shared a laugh and looked at the stars above. They stay looking at the stars above for a while. Silence hangs in the air, Somnus broke the silence when he cleared his throat. _

_"You're grounded and I'm taking your rapier for a month," Somnus said as he glared at her again._

_"What a month!" she bellowed, "That too long brother, maybe you can shorten it up, maybe just a week?" she asked._

_"No, a month," he stood up and held his right hand, "Come give it to me,"_

_"No," Astraea shouted as she gripped her rapier close to her waist._

_"Astraea Lu-" before Somnus could finish his sentence they heard someone scream in the distance._

_"What's that," Astraea turned at the direction of the voice she squinted her eyes to see into the darkness. She saw a merchant running for his life as daemons chase him. "He needs help brother," Astraea declared as she jumped down and ran towards the merchant._

_"Wait! Astraea," Somnus held his hand up, "Why did the Astrals give me a sister like you!" Somnus said as he scratched the back of his head in frustration. He warped down and ran to catch up to his sister. _

_The merchant fell on the ground and cowered in fear as three Imps jumped up and ready to strike him when a huge fireball obliterated them in an instant._

_"Are you okay sir?" Astraea slide to his side and helped the merchant up, "Here take this," she handed him a potion, "Go to the haven you will be safe there," _

_"Thank," the merchant bowed to her and ran towards the haven._

_"Can you not run ahead and learn to wait," Somnus said as he stood beside her. "You're impulsive as ever," he glared at her._

_"Well, I got it from you, Brother," _

_"Wha-" before Somnus could finish his sentence again they heard multiply hissing and growling noise they both looked ahead to see a horde of daemons. Their eyes focused as they saw Imps, Goblins, and Ronin walking towards them._

_"Hey Somnus, Let make a bet If I killed more daemons than you then I don't have to be grounded," _

_Somnus smirked "Okay, but if I win I will be adding one more month, so you will be grounded for two months" he glanced at her to see her reaction. _

_"It's a deal," she unsheathed her rapier from her sword belt using her left hand. _

_"Okay then just don't cry when you lose, dear sister," Somnus held his arm in front of him in a flash of light his sword appeared._

_"In the count of three," she turned away from him, "1...2...3!"_

_Somnus suddenly threw his sword towards the horde and in a blink of an eye, he warped in and killed 5 Imps in a single swing of his sword._

_"Hey that cheating, no warping!" Astraea called out as she ran towards the horde._

_**"That weird Somnus has the same ability as Noctis,"** Astraea said to herself as she continued to watch the situation. _

_As Somnus warped around her, Astraea kept her focus on the daemons around her. She plunged the tip of her rapier in the ground. Her fingers glowed red and traveled down the blade towards the ground below when the red glow hit the ground it summoned a wall of fire around her, it obliterated five daemons in an instant. She drew her blade from the ground and turned around to see a blade of a Ronin heading towards her direction. She bent backward as the blade of the Ronin went past her head and cut a few strains of her hair. As Ronin swung his sword downward from bending backward she did a one-handed back-handspring to avoid the blade again as she landed in a crouching position without second to delay she slashed upward and cut the Ronin in half._

_"That six," she said as the Ronin disappeared in black smoke. She looked around to see Somnus fighting six goblins. She pointed her rapier in that direction, the point of her rapier glows red and it fires a beam of red light that turns into small fireballs and hits every goblin in front of Somnus._

_"Hey, no stealing!" Somnus shouted._

_"Sorry brother, I am planning to win," she said as she ran past him towards another horde of daemons coming their way._

_"Okay then we see about that," Somnus held his left hand and in a flash of blue light another blade appeared and he gripped it tight and threw the two blade towards the horde, he warped past Astraea who's still running. When Astraea saw the trails of blue light she shouted._

_"Hey, I said no warping!"_

_"Tough luck sister," Somnus shouted as he killed another group of daemons._

_30 minutes pass Astraea and Somnus have killed all the Daemons around them. The siblings bending down their hands on their knees and panting. _

_"That 25 for me brother," Astraea said between breaths as she sheathed her rapier and walked towards her brother._

_Somnus glanced at her as he swung his hand in a flash blue light his sword disappeared. He's about to open his mouth when they heard a rustling sound and saw an Imp running away from them. Somnus and Astraea look at each other's eyes. Somnus suddenly sprinted towards it as he was tired of warping. Somnus summoned his sword again and about to strike down the Imp when a dagger flew past him cutting his right cheek, it hit the Imp in the back of the neck. The Imp howled in pain and felt forward and disappeared in black smoke. _

_"Hey that dangerous Astraea, you could have hit me," Somnus shouted _

_Astraea just smiled and said, "Sorry like I said brother, I trying to win this," she walked towards where the Imp's body disappeared and grabbed her dagger back from the ground._

_Astraea gasp as the sight of the dagger. It's identical to her dagger but instead of red, it's royal blue. She wanted to take a good look at it but the older Astraea sheathed it back to her right boot. _

_"That makes mine kills into 26, brother," she smiled as she put her arms behind her back. _

_"Oh really that quite a number," he said in a sarcastic tone as he smirked and crossed his arms. "Mine is 30."_

_ "What!" _

_"I win," Somnus said as he held his right hand up, "Now give me your rapier," _

_"No!" Astraea grabbed her rapier and its sheath and hugged it tightly. "Over my dead body," _

_"That could be arranged," Somnus summoned his blade while smiling at her._

_Astraea gulped and turned around and started running away._

_Astraea was able to run a few yards away from him, "You never take me alive brother," she said while laughing. As she took another step a huge red hand burst out from the ground below and went to grab her. She cannot stop and she was about to fall into the massive red hand in front of her but she was pushed aside by Somnus who warped in her place instead. As Astraea regained her footing and she quickly turned around to see Somnus being held by a Red giant. The Red giants started squeezing him with its massive hand._

_ "Brother!" Astraea screamed in terror._

_Somnus screamed in pain as he felt his body being crushed and he heard a snapping sound as he felt his right shoulder dislocated. He shut his blue eyes shut at the pain is unbearable. Then suddenly the red giant released him and he fell to the ground. He looked up to see the red giant engulfed in flames._

_"Brother," Astraea said as she knelt down beside him, "Are you okay?"_

_"I'm fine but my shoulder has been dislocated," he said while holding his shoulder. _

_"I'm very sorry Somnus," Astraea cried, "It's all my fault," _

_"This is not the time Astra-" Somnus saw the Red giants swung their swords down at them, "Look out," Somnus grabbed Astraea and warped a few feet back. _

_"Arghh," Somnus groaned as he fell to his knees._

_Astraea helped him to stand up and hooked his unharmed arm around her neck, "Here lean on me." Somnus nodded at her. "Sorry, brother I don't have any potion anymore." _

_"We need to retreat, let's go back to the haven," Somnus said as he tried to bear the pain. Before they could take another step the Red giant howled and started to walk towards them. _

_"Can you stand Somnus?" Somnus glanced down to see the anger in her eyes. _

_"Don't do it, let's go back," Somnus said as he tried to walk away but Astraea unhooked his shoulder around her neck and walked forward._

_She unsheathed her rapier and slowly walked towards the red giant._

_"Astraea, I said NO!" Somnus ordered her but she did not listen as her hair started to turn red. _

_Astraea could not believe what she saw as she was able to see the older Astraea reflection from the water puddle below. Astraea black hair completely turned blood red and embers started fluttering from it. **"****What the heck is happening! who is she, why does she look like me? Or do I look like her ? and we have the same power?"** those are the questions in her mind as she continues to watch. _

_Astraea took a deep breath and held her rapier in front of her face. She slowly closed her eyes and when it opened it again her red eyes were now glowing(Like when Noctis summon an Astral). She swung the rapier downward and it burst into flames. _

_"Astraea!" She could hear Somnus' angry voice behind her but she continued to walk forward, her strides widen as she started running towards the red giants. As she goes near the daemon it swung its massive red sword downward, she was able to avoid it by stepping to the side, she trusted her rapier in the chest of the Red Giant burying it halfway through. _

_"FLARE!" _

_The rapier burst into flames and exploded making a huge circular hole in the chest of the daemon. Astraea hiss as she jumped back and held her blade up in the sky, "I'm not finished with you yet," she exhaled, "METEOR!" _

_The velvet sky glows red as a huge flaming rock appeared out of nowhere and came crashing down at the Red giant. As the flaming rock collided with the ground it sent a shockwave around the area and dust flew up into the night sky. As the dust settles it reveals a huge flaming crater where the red giant is standing a minute ago._

_Astraea breathed a sigh of relief as she lowered her blade down. _

_"Ok, that overkill" Somnus said as he walked beside her still holding his injured shoulder._

_Astraea turned to him, her hair returned to black and her eyes stop glowing and smile, "I will do everything to protect you, brother"_

_"Does this include burning and destroying the things around you?" _

_She tilted her head to the side, "What do you mean?" Somnus pointed at the direction on which the meteor made a crater. Her crimson eyes widened as she saw the flames from the crater start to scatter and burn all the dried grass and bushes around them._

_"AHHHHH" she screamed as she dropped her rapier and started to stomped on the burning grass _

_"Hmmmphh HAhahahaha" Somnus laughed._

_Astraea turns to him and glared "What are you doing? help me put out the fire," _

_Somnus just stared at her and smirked as he grabbed her rapier from the ground, "You know you can order the fire to go off right?"_

_Astraea's right leg stopped in midair and she slumped her head down as she looked at him. Somnus held her rapier in front of him in a flash of blue light and it disappeared. "I will return it to you after 3 months,"_

_"What!" she bellowed as she marched up to him, "Why?"_

_"Because you disobeyed my order,"_

_"You know do not like to following orders,"_

_"Though luck sister, next time please be careful with your flames, we are trying to save Eos not destroy it," Somnus smiled as he turned around and started to walk towards the haven. _

_Astraea rubbed in hair and frustration and screamed internally. She composed herself and stood up straight and she snapped her right finger the flames around to her die out leaving just the huge crater in its wake._

_"Somnus give me back my rapier," she shouted as she followed her brother._

_Somnus stopped and waited for her but before he could speak they heard a rumbling sound they looked around to see a horde of red giants coming from the ground._

_"Shit!" Somnus mumbled as Astraea walked to his side._

_"Brother what are we going to do, I have nothing left and my stamina is now fading and you're injured too."_

_Somnus bit his lip as he looked for a way out. "Can you still fight without your power?" _

_"Yes," _

_"Here," Somnus summoned her rapier and handed it to her, "Take this and leave me!"_

_"What" her eyes widen "No, In not going to leave you,"_

_"Astraea listens to me, leave now!" Somnus ordered as he summons his blade. "I can give you opening take it and leave,"_

_"No!"_

_"I'm not arguing with you now, follow my orders and leave! save yourself!"_

_As the two siblings bickered, they did not notice a red giant behind them raised its massive sword up and about to bring it down towards them. Somnus saw this and hugged Astraea protectively. Suddenly a flash of red light split the daemon into two halves falling to either side of the siblings. Both siblings turned to their savior and saw Ardyn standing triumphantly with his red blade, the Rakshasa in his hand._

_"What will you two do without me," Ardyn said whimsically._

_"Brother," they said in unison as they stood up._

_"Somnus catch!" Somnus able to catch the potion._

_"You always want dramatic entrance Ardyn," he smirked as he shattered the potion and it healed him instantly._

_"So stop messing around, I'm always saving you butts at the last minute," Ardyn laughed and whacked a hard hand against his back. Somnus stumbled a bit when he was able to regain his footing he looked at his brother glaring daggers at him. Ardyn just smiled and turned to Astraea._

_"Do you still have a fight left in you or you're gonna sit this out, dear sister," he said teasingly._

_"What no! I will fight," she said as her hair turned red, and ember started flying from it._

_"Well then let the show begin," Ardyn walked beside Astraea._

_The three siblings are now standing parallel to each other. Somnus in the left, Ardyn in the right while Astraea in the center. As 13 red giants are now walking towards them at a steady pace._

_"So our bet is still ongoing?" Ardyn asked as he positioned himself in a close stance._

_"Of course," Somnus replied with a smirk while doing a guarding stance._

_"So that means I don't have to hold back anymore?" Astraea said she held her rapier in front of her face as it glowed bright red. _

_"Okay then may the best sibling win," Ardyn said._

_"I'm planning too," Astraea said she launched forwards attacking the nearest daemon, she trusted her blade into its heart and it burst in flame and it obliterated the red giant in a blink of an eye she somersaults back to her brother's side. _

_"That one for me," she said._

_Ardyn and Somnus chuckled and at the same time threw their blade into the air and warp towards the enemy. _

_"Hey! I said no warping!" Astraea called out to them with a smile as she ran after them. _

**…**

A few yards away at the top of the haven three people are watching siblings from afar. A tall man with a mask with silver armor is standing still with his blade in front of him between his legs watching Astraea's every move with his piercing red eyes.

"Are you not going to help her guardian" he glanced down at Reno who's wearing a black tunic and pants. Sitting with his right leg close to his body while the other leg hung down the edge of the haven.

"Why should I? looks like she is having fun and doesn't need my help," Reno replied as he looked up.

"As her guardian, you need to protect her, why are you letting her lose control?" the man replied with a stern voice as he saw Astraea summon multiple meteors and destroy the surrounding area.

"She is still learning to use her ability, so give her a break, Shield," Reno stood up.

"Reno is right, Gilgamesh," a female voice said behind them.

They turned around to see a female with blonde hair up to her shoulder and blue eyes wearing a long white dress walking towards them.

"Lady Aera," Gilgamesh bowed down.

"Sorry Lady Aera we forgot that you are with us," Reno said as he bowed down too.

"It's okay you two, so are two not going to help them or continue to bickers like children" Aera walked past them and sat on the edge of the haven and looked at the sibling who was still busy fighting.

"They can handle it," Reno said as he stood behind her, "But the Shield here does believe it and always doubts the ability of the siblings," Reno said as glanced back at Gilgamesh.

I don't doubt the ability of Lord Ardyn, Somnus and Lady Astrea. I'm doubting your ability as her guardian and Ifrit's messenger," Gigamesh said.

"So you're saying I'm a fake, Shield?" Reno said as he walked towards him and stopped mere inches away from his face.

"Yes I'm and my name is not, shield it Gilgamesh," Gilgamesh said he tightened his grip on his sword.

"Well, my name is not guardian either its Reno and you want a sample of my power Gilly?" Reno snickered as he held his right hand up, his fingers turned into talons and glowed red.

Gilgamesh raised his sword up as his red eyes glared daggers at him "Come on, show me you power big bird," Gilgamesh said as he prepared himself for a fight.

"Don't cry if you lost, old man," Reno smiled as he launched at him.

Aera took a long sighed, **_"At this rate, It's going to take long before we could save Eos" _**she thought as she could hear the fighting behind her. She looked forward to seeing the sibling standing still playing rock paper scissors to know who's going to kill the last Red giant. _**"When will they stop acting like children," **_Aera said to herself as she smiled.

_**"Oh, Gods above give me the strength to guide these children to fulfill their destiny." **_Aera joked as she looked up then she looked down to see Astraea winning the rock paper and scissors. She laughed as she saw Astraea jumping up and down. Somnus and Ardyn just stood back and let her do her magic.

...

_Astraea took a deep breath and summoned a magic circle below her feet. (FFX Ifrit's seal) It glowed brightly. Astraea held rapier and the air shouted "Hell Fire!"_

_The sky turned ominous as a huge flaming rock as a large stone haven came down from heaven. When it hit the land it caused a massive shockwave across the desert and it made both Gilgamesh and Reno stop their duel and turned to its direction. When the dust settles a huge cannon is now its wake. (The location of the Bandersnatch)._

_The color drained from her face when she saw the destruction she made._

_"Astraea…"_

_The hairs on her back stood up and it ran shiver down to her spin. As she heard both her brother calls her name with low and dangerous. She slowly turned around as she sheathed her rapier back on its cover. She came face to face with the angry faces of her brothers, their piercing blue eyes ready to kill her. _

_**"Hey Reno, need help here," **she whispered as she backed away._

_"Astraea," Ardyn said in a low and dangerous voice as he walked over to her._

_Reno in his Chocobo form ran up to them and stopped in front of them. Ardyn is taken aback as Astraea straddled Reno quickly._

_"Quick Reno run for our lives!" Reno did as she said as they were out of there in no time._

_Astraea laughed as she heard her brother screaming her name at the top of their lungs._

_"You're always my lifesaver Reno," she said as he hugged Reno's neck._

_"Always my master," Reno replied as he galloped away. _

* * *

_**A/N: **_If you're wondering how old Astraea is, Astraea in the dream/memory she is 22 years old while Somnus is 27 while Ardyn is 30.

THANK YOU! Hope you enjoy this and have a wonderful Day!

Next chapter _The Champion of the Astrals Ifrit's Flame and Bahamut's Light Part 2._


	12. Chapter 10

**The Champion of the Astrals, Ifrit's Flame and Bahamut's Light part 2**

_"Being weak is nothing to be ashamed of... Staying weak is!" -Fuegoleon Vermillion(Black Clover)._

* * *

"Astra…." a male voice kept calling her, "ASTRA!" it's getting louder by the second as her consciousness faded in and out "ASTRAEA!"

She bolted upright and looked around and saw that she was back at the haven once again. She felt hands holding her shoulder. She turned her gaze to the side to see the prince looking at her with a look of concerned plaster on his face.

"Noctis?" she asked as she blinked several times to let her eyes adjust.

"Good your alright, I was so worried you were screaming,"

"I was?"

"Yes for a good minute, your screaming someone's name." Noctis said in a low voice, "Are you alright?" he started rubbing her shoulder gently.

Astraea shivered from his touch Noctis noticed it, "Sorry," he blurted as he let go and backed away.

"I was screaming?" she asked while holding her head in discomfort.

"Yes, you are screaming a male's name," Noctis said as scratched the back of his head, "If I heard it right, your calling for Somnus,"

"Somnus.." Astraea whispered as she tried to remember her dream.

"So who is he?" Noctis asked as he sat cross-legged in front of her, "Someone important to you?"

"Why would you say that?" she turned to him and their eyes met.

"Well, the way you screams his name, it's like you're screaming for someone you loved,"

"Really?" she lowered her head, "To be honest I don't know who he is?" she took a deep breath and closed her eyes and saw Somnus standing in front of her his back turned to her, **_"Who are you?" _**she thought as she remembered the dream.

Noctis opened his mouth to ask another question when they hear someone scream and tires screeching.

Astraea quickly stood up, "What that!"

"HELP!" a male voice screamed.

They both look at each other and nodded in agreement and sprinted towards the source of the scream.

**…**

They arrived at Saulhend Pass where they found a blue truck turn over on its left side, its headlights flickering. They saw several Goblins and Garchimacera surrounding it. They saw one Goblin trying to enter the truck using the driver's side window.

When the driver saw them he shouted at them. "Please help me!"

"Noct, do you have any experience in fighting daemons?" Astraea asked as she unsheathed her dagger from her boot.

"No," Noctis said as he summoned his sword, "This will be the first,"

"Do you want to sit this one out?" Astraea asked again as she turned to him.

"What?" his forehead furrowed as he looked at her, "No way!" he bellowed, "I'm going to fight, I don't want you to have all the fun," he smirked.

"Okay then, just be careful!" Astraea said as she ran towards the truck while running she cast fira at the Imp above the truck. The Imp howled in pain as the fire incinerated it within seconds. She jumped up and tried to pried the door open. "It's stuck,"

Noctis screamed as he slashed one Imp in half standing at the left front tire.

"How are you doing Noct?" Astraea called to him still prying the door open.

"Fine!" he shouted back as he killed another Imp. "Hurry up, I need you down here!"

"Yes right," Astraea imbued her dagger in flame, "Close your eyes," she ordered the driver, then she plunged the dagger in the hinge of the door, "Fira!" it exploded and sent the door flying in the air. "Come on!" she held her hand towards the driver and he took it and able to climb up. She turned around to see a Goblin trying to attack Noctis from behind.

"Noct, look out!" she yelled.

Noctis turned around quickly but he had no time to block the Goblin's attack when BAM! a flaming door came down and crushed the goblin.

"Woah!" Noctis exclaimed as he backed away from the flaming door. "That was close,"

Astraea breathed a sigh of relief seeing Noctis is safe. She then turned her attention back to the driver who's standing at her side now, "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yes, Thank you, they came out of nowhere I could not stop the truck," the driver explained as he took a step but winced in pain. Astraea saw a huge gash in his right leg, without thinking she quickly grabbed a potion from her saddlebag and healed the driver.

"Thanks," The driver said as he is able to stand up straight.

"It's too dangerous here, you need to go to the Vennaugh Haven is just past the stone arch,"

"Hey Astra, we have a problem," the prince's voice quivered."

Astraea looked down seeing Noctis his back against the undercarriage of the truck as a horde of Goblins and Garchimacera started to surround them at all sides.

She cursed under her breath as she looked at her dagger and back at the horde of daemons. "This won't do," her hair started to flicker from black to red as panic surged through her, she trembled in fear but when she looked down and saw Noctis tightened his grip on his sword and the look of determination on his face her fear fades.

_**"No don't panic Astra you can do this,"** _her hair stopped changing color. She took a deep breath and composed herself. She gazed at their surroundings to look for a way to escape when she looked down and saw the lettering at the side of the truck.

"Swords Culless Munitions Guns'' she whispered, "YES!" she screamed this caught Noctis off guard and he looked up.

"What! What happened!"

She looked down at him, smiling at the corner of her eyes she saw a Garchimacera jumped and attacked the prince from behind, "Noct dock!" she said and threw her dagger, Noctis dove down as the dagger went past his head. Seconds later he heard a hissing behind him and saw a Garchimacera falling down on the ground, a dagger sticking out its chest as it disappeared in black smoke.

"Wow, Thank Astra" Noctis blue eyes widened, he felt Astraea jumped down beside him, he turned to her and said with the smile "Nice aim,"

"Don't thank me yet," she gazed at him. "We're still in hot water, Noct," she said as she grabbed her dagger off the ground.

"Hey, sir?" Astraea glanced at the driver, who was still at the top of the truck, "Do you have rapier in your arsenal?"

"Yes I do, is in the back," he said as he jumped down and opened the back of the truck, "Here" he threw the rapier to her.

Astraea was able to catch it, "Thanks, I will pay you after we're done here, you can leave this to us and go to the haven," She said as she sheathed the dagger back in her boot.

"Saving me is enough as a payment," the driver said as he turned around but he was met by three goblins jumping towards him. Before the goblins could reach him, a huge fireball engulfed all three goblins. His eyes widened as he looked back at Astraea.

"What are you waiting for? GO now!" Astraea shouted at him.

"Yes, be careful young ones," he shouted back as he sprinted towards the haven.

"So it's just the two for us Noct," Astraea said as she unsheathed the rapier half-way through from its cover. She frowned to see it's just a normal rapier and not the cool red rapier that she saw in her dream.

The prince saw her distressed, "What wrong?"

"Nothing," she shook her head, "So how many have you killed?" she fully unsheath her weapon and swung it beside her.

"Three why?" he asked as he raised an eyebrow to her.

"Do you want to continue our bet?" she gazed at him, "It's now double or nothing,"

"Sure what the prize?" he turned his attention towards the daemons.

"Well, the loser will have to take all the punishment of the winner,"

"What do you mean?"

"Well after this, we have no choice but to go back home, we are going to be in a lot of trouble so th-

"The loser," he cut her off, "Will have to take the punishment of the winner," he turned to her, "So if I am going to be grounded for a month you will take that and be grounded in my stead right?" a smirk ran across his face.

"Yup, but if you win," she chuckled.

Noctis laughed, "Ok then, let's do it," he said as he tightened his grip on his sword and did a guarding stance.

"So Noct, I can use my power?"

"Of course, it will not be a contest if you don't"

"Ok then, just don't cry if you lost, Your Highness," she said teasingly.

"You got lucky this afternoon, I will surely win this ti-"

Noctis backed away, his blue eyes widened when Astraea hairs burst into flames and turned blood red, her eyes turning crimson.

She turned to him, "Good luck,"

Noctis regained his footing and shook his head and did a guarding stance again.

"This will be fun, don't hold back Astra," he smirked,

"Just tell me if you need any help Noct, I help save you like a damsel in distress," she joked as she took one step forward.

"I'm the prince here right? So I will do the saving,"

Astraea laughed, Noctis joined her seconds later they stopped and ready themselves to fight.

"Be careful Noctis," Astraea whispered,

"You too, Astraea,"

"Ok then, let's go in 1…2…..3!...GO!"

Noctis went first and he threw his sword into the air towards one of the Goblins. As the sword reached the Goblin from above, the prince warped in midair and grabbed swords with both hands and slashed the Goblin in half.

Astraea stopped and looked at Noctis in shock.

"Somnus.." she murmured.

She remembered her dream a while ago. Not only Noctis and Somnus look alike, but they also have the same fighting style. She could not move as her head started throbbing in pain. She grabbed it and she leaned her right hand on the undercarriage of the truck.

"Astra look out!" she looked up to see an Imp launched at her. She was not able to move because of the pain, she just stood still and waited for it to come suddenly in a flash of blue light Noctis warped in front of her and killed the Imp.

"Are you okay Astra?" Noctis asked.

"Yes, I'm okay, I just got a massive headache all of a sudden," she said as he stopped leaning and regained her footing and tightened her grip on her weapon.

"Okay then, you have to catch up, I already killed 5, you're falling behind," Noctis smiled and as he warped towards one Goblin and killed it in one swift swing.

Astraea smiled and shook her head as she turned around and launched at the daemon behind them.

As Noctis kept using his warping ability, Astraea did not hold back and used her power. She fired multiple fireballs at the daemons in front of her and finished the surviving one using the rapier. Sometimes she will save Noctis and Noctis will save her. This continued for 10 minutes. When there only one goblin left, both Astraea and Noctis ran after it. They almost reach the stone arch when Noctis about to warp a dagger went past him and killed the goblin.

He stopped on his track and looked back to see Astraea smiling at him.

"Hey not fair, you stole my kill" Noctis whined as he unsummon his sword.

"Tough luck, Noct you have to be faster than my dagger," Astraea smirked as she grabbed her dagger from the ground. Her eyes and hair return to its natural colors. "So how many have you killed?" she asked and sheathed the dagger back in her boot. "Mine is 15,"

"Really mine is also 15," Noctis said he tries to catch his breath. "So it's a tie then,"

"We need a tiebreaker, the first one who reached the haven wins!" Astraea said happily.

"For someone who just fought for 10 minutes, you sure have a lot of strength left."

"What are you afraid you're going to lose, Your Highness," she mocked.

"Not a chance," Noctis said as he walked parallel to her.

"Ok then," Astraea said as she sheathed the rapier and held it tight, "Let go in 1... 2... 3…GO!"

They sprinted towards the haven, they saw the driver waving to them. Astraea was the first to pass the stone arch when a Red giant jumped down from above and landed in front of her. She had no time to stop as the giants swung it's massive sword toward her. Her eyes widened as she saw a flash of blue light and Noctis taking the full force of the attack using his sword. The swords hit the Prince's sword, shattering it into pieces and it sent him flying towards one of the walls of the cliff by the roadside.

"NOCTIS!" Panic flared in her eyes as she screamed at the top of her lungs.

**...**

20 minutes early as the two royals went to sleep Reno broke his connection to flames. As King Regis has decided to go to them. Reno got bored while watching the two sleeping so he went flying back at the diner to meet with the Marshal. He landed behind it and changed into his human form but this time he changed the color of his hair from red to brown together with his eyes and he hid his marks on the cheeks and his long ponytail and walked inside to find the Marshal and Aerith talking to the cashier.

"Hey Marshal!" he waved his hand.

"You! Why are you here?" Cor asked, "What with that appearance?"

"It's just a precaution, I don't want Astraea remembering me,"

"Speaking of them, where the royal highnesses?

"They are sleeping, I got bored and left them there," Reno said as he sat down on one of the stools and looked at the menu,

"What you're insane! you just left them there!" Cor shouted at him

Reno just rolled his eyes at him, "They are at the haven, they are safe, don't worry so much Marshal"

"Cor is right you should not leave them there, Reno," Aerith said in a worried tone.

"Ok fine!" he scoffed, "I'm going back there," he walked toward the entrance but he stopped when three Kingsglaives entered the diner.

"Marshal!" Nyx greeted the Cor with a salute.

"Nyx, Libertus, Crowe, why are you here?" Cor asked, looking at each one of them as he said their name.

"The king sent us here, he said you need back up," Nyx replied and looked suspiciously at Reno. He looked at him from head to toe, as Reno is wearing a crownsguards uniform but he doesn't remember seeing him in the crown city.

"Who are you?" Nyx asked him in a stern voice.

Reno just snickers and held his right hand, "Sinclair, Reno Sinclair, Astraea personal Crownsguard,"

Nyx did not take his hand "Your her personal guard so why was she able to go outside the city? Looks like your not doing your job properly"

A vein popped out in Reno's neck he laughed, "I was on my break," he chuckled "But I heard that you got TAKEN DOWN by her," Reno emphasized the word taken down as he looked at him in the eyes.

"Yes, she did that, that won't happen if you're doing your job properly." Nyx snickered back.

"Oh really?" Reno asked sarcastically as the two are now having a staring contest.

The other four people in the room just look at them bewildered.

"Boys will be boys," Crowe whispered as she rolled her eyes. "So where is The Prince and Lady Astraea at the moment, Marshal?" Crowe walked in the middle of Nyx and Reno.

"They are Emmelle Haven," Reno answered her with a smile.

Crowe just frowned at him, "Why do you know this,"

"Because I'm the one who found them, I just went here to tell the marshal,"

"So you left them there!" Nyx shouted.

"Don't worry glaive, they are in haven, and it's a peaceful night, nothing bad gonna happ-'' Reno could not finish that sentence as the piercing scream of Astraea could be heard in the distance.

"NOCTIS!"

They all looked in the direction of the scream and bolted out the diner, They all reached the Emmelle Haven to find it empty.

"They are not here Reno?" Aerith said with a shaking voice.

"I just left them here just 20 minutes ago," Reno said his voice is quivering.

"We need to look to them," Marshal order, "let's split u-"

Before the marshal could finish his sentence they saw an explosion from the road heading to Saulhend Pass so they all bolted towards it. What they saw drained all the color on their faces. The Prince is all bloody and kneeling at the center of the road while Astraea is standing in front of him as a Giant Red about to swing in swords down at her.

**…**

Early….

"NOCTIS!" Astraea screamed the Prince in name in terror as she dropped the rapier and sprinted towards him and she knelt beside the injured prince, "Why did you do that!"

Noctis laughed trying to hide the fact that he is in a lot of pain, "You said that I'm your knight in shining armor."

"That was a joke!" Astraea shouted at him tears trailing down on her cheeks

Noctis just forced a smile as he stood up but quickly lost all the strength in his legs and came tumbling down. Astraea was able to catch him, Noctis winced in pain as Astraea grabbed his right shoulder and he grabbed it suddenly.

"Noct your shoulder," Astraea said as fear crossed her face.

"I'm okay, it's just a dislocated shoulder, this won't kill me" Noctis smirked trying to comfort Astraea who's now crying her eyes out.

"This is not the time making jokes, here lean on me" Astraea went to his left side and hooked his unharmed arm around her neck, she quickly opened her bag to look for a potion. The color drained from her face when she can't find one.

"Shit!" she cursed under her breath and looked at Noctis pale face, " Noct we need to run for it, I don't have any potion to heal you,"

Before Noctis could reply the Red giants swung their sword towards them, Noctis saw this, he hugged Astraea and warped with her into safety. The massive sword collided with the stone wall that sends chunks on stones in the air.

They landed 20 feet away from the daemon. Noctis eyes closed shut as it sent a shockwave of pain all over his body and he collapsed on the road.

"Noctis" Astraea cried as she knelt down.

The red giant howled as it slowly trudged towards. Astraea quickly drew her dagger and imbued it with fire and threw it towards the daemon. The dagger digs half-way through its chest.

"FIRA!" Astraea screamed.

The dagger lights up and explodes causing the red giants to step back when the smoke cleared, the dagger fell on the ground. Both Astraea and Noctis's eyes widened to see that the spell did not damage the red giant in any way. Noctis saw the fear in Astraea eyes as he felt her tremble.

He bit his lip and murmured, "Leave me,"

"What!" Astraea eyes widened as she looked at him, "I can't leave you,"

"I said leave me and save yourself, Run now!" Noctis ordered through gritted teeth.

"NO!" Astraea snapped at him as she stopped crying, "I will not leave you!"

"Don't argue with me Astra, save yourself," Noctis said as he pushed her away.

"I will not!" Astraea shouted.

As they argued they did not notice that the Red giant is now standing in front of them. It raised its sword up into the air and swung it down towards them.

"Noct!" Astraea went in front of the prince and spread her arms wide.

"Astraea!" Noctis screamed in terror.

Present….

A crack of thunder can be heard behind them and in a flash of bright light it hit the Red giant in the chest and sent it back a few feet and suddenly in a burst of blue light two kingsglaive appeared in front of them, their blades were drawn. Astraea fell on her knees, her heart pounding in her chest as she looked up to see a familiar face.

"Are you okay Lady Astraea?" Nyx asked while glancing down at her.

Astraea is about to answer when she heard her mother's voice behind them.

"Astraea" Aerith cried her daughter's name as they approached them.

"Mother," she said tears started to trail down her cheek.

Aerith hugged her tightly, "Are you okay?"

"Yes," she replied in a quivering voice, "But the prince is injured," she turned to Noctis is now being tended by Cor and Crowe.

"You need to leave!" Nyx shouted at them as the Red giant's swords burst into flame and started to trudge towards.

"Let's go Astraea," Aerith said as she helped her daughter to stand up. Behind them, the Marshal did the same with Noctis.

When they turned around and walked a few steps the Red Giants roared. Astraea stopped and looked at Noctis from behind. She saw how badly Noctis's injury was, she felt a spark ignited inside her, her fear turned to anger as fury surged through her, she quickly turned around and started to walk back towards the daemon.

"Astraea! What are you doing?" Aerith called to her, this caught the Prince's attention and looked back too.

"Astra!" Noctis shouted her name but Astraea did not stop and kept walking.

"So Libertus do you mind if I take this one out?" Nyx asked as he twirled his kukris.

"Go ahead hero," Libertus said.

But before Nyx could warp Astraea trudge past them.

"Hey! What are you doing? It's dangerous, stay back!" Nyx about to reach her shoulder suddenly Astraea hair burst into flames, Nyx jerked back and just stared at her. When the flames died down her hair that was black as the night is now blood red, and gave a faint glow as embers started fluttering from it.

"No, he's mine," Astraea said in low ominous voice as she turned around to all the people behind her they froze at their spot when they saw her red blazing eyes she narrowed it at them, "Don't you dare move if you don't want to get burned," she warned as she turned her head back at the Red giant.

Reno just stood behind all of them not moving an inch as headlights cast behind him. He looked back to find the black car stopping and King Regis stepped out together with his shield Clarus.

"What is going on here?" King Regis asked as he walked forwards he stopped as he saw his son's condition, his emerald eyes widened as he dropped his cane and ran towards his son.

"Noctis!" he cried his name.

Noctis heard him and looked back, "Dad,"

"What happened are you okay?" Regis asked.

"I'm okay Dad, but please stop Astraea," Noctis begged as he looked at Astraea.

Regis then turned to her, his eyes widened once more to when he saw Astraea. Astraea standing still and giving an ominous aura to the people around her. As the winds pick up her hair flow with it embers flying up into the sky.

Regis is about to step forwards but Reno held a hand and stopped him. "If you want to know who she really is and what she can do, don't interfere" Reno whispered.

Noctis heard the last part as he walked towards them, "What do you mean don't interfere, we need to help HER!"

"I said don't MOVE!" Astraea shouted at the top of her lungs all people stop and turned towards her. "He's mine,"

At the haven, the driver could see everything and decided to record it using his phone.

Before Noctis could utter another world Astraea bent her knee a little as flames started to gather below her feet she lunged forward using the memento of the flames she sprinted towards the daemon. With the help of the flames, she was able to run blazing, she narrowed her crimson eyes at the rapier at the ground behind the red giant. When she was about a foot the daemon swung its massive flaming sword at her, she slid down and bent her body backward as the sword went past her face. She could feel the heat from the blade but she continued to slide towards the rapier. She was able to grab it while skidding, she came to a full stop and unsheathed its cover. The red giant turned to her and swung it's blade down at her, she was able to block it in a crouching position. The blow is so strong the ground beneath her crack.

"Astraea!" she could hear Noctis's voice.

She gritted her teeth and parried the attack and the massive blade recoil upward then she slashed her rapier downwards as her hand started to glow bright red and ran down the blade within seconds its burst into flame and ran the full length of the blade. Without delay, she slashed upward cutting the daemon in the center of its body as the flames shot up into the night sky. The daemon howled in pain but quickly recovered and grabbed Astraea and started to squeeze her. She screamed in pain as her bones started to break, her hair started blinking erratically as pain shot through her small body. She closed her eyes and she was about to pass out from the pain when she heard a distant male voice calling to her.

_**"Astraea, ****do not give up,"** _ she opened her eyes and closed it again. "_**You can do it, sister, show them the power of the power Fire Maiden!"**_

Her eyes sprang open wide, her hair burst into flames again and engulfed the hand of the red giant it howled and threw her up into the sky towards the stone arch. She somersaults mid-air and landed on her feet in crouching position below the stone arch. She then drew rapier across her chest as the fire died down, the blade glowed bright red and her feet burst into flame as she lunged down. She cut the daemon on its shoulder then went she was able to land in a crouching position she quickly turned around and lunged again made another cut as she passed the daemon. She was able to land again on the other side of the road and lunged again. As she was surrounded by stone walls she used it to bounce back and attacked the Red giant in different directions in blazing speed. Her body went blurry and left a trail of red light as she bounced all around the Red giants cutting it in all directions.

"Wow..." Noctis jaw dropped as he stood still watching Astraea in astonishment as the people around him do the same.

Astraea lunged up again and she ended below the stone arch yet again. She narrowed her eyes as she lunged the final time and cut its left shoulder completely. She landed on her knees as the dismember shoulder fell beside her. It liquefied into black smoke and disappeared to the ground below. That weakened the red giant that it has to take a knee. Astraea saw this opportunity and slashed its horns, it howled in pain and stood up and swung its flaming sword towards her. She was able to block it but it sent her skidding back, she dug the heel of her boots to stop herself from skidding further. She was able to stop in front of Nyx and Libertus.

"Still not enough," she murmured while trying to catch her breath.

She slashed her blade downward to collect herself. Even in the distance, Noctis could see all the cuts on Astraea's arm and legs. He was about to call her when he saw that Astraea wounds started to heal. It surprised him that he could not stop staring at her.

"Stand back," she informed them while glancing back, they just gave her a bewildered look but did what she said and moved further back.

She then turned her attention back to the red giant. She held up her right hand up, her fingers started to glow red as she summoned a fire spell. Her hand burst into flames and turned into a small flaming ball then she drew it close to her crest then threw it at the feet of the Red Giant.

"FIRAGA!" she shouted as the small flaming ball exploded and sent a shockwave across the road. When the fire down died the Red giant is now scorched its red body is now black and full of cuts but it remains standing the roared at her.

She smirks, "Good you still alive," she whispered to herself as she drew her blade up to her opposite shoulder "Because I'm not finished with you yet!" then she sprinted towards it yet again. It swung its sword at her and she made a full stop as the sword hit the ground in front of her. She then jumped up and ran up the sword to its shoulder.

"This end now!" she thrust her rapier into its chest and drew it again and stabbed in again and again in quick succession all over the upper body. Her last thrust went to its heart and it went all the way through its body. She kicked it to draw her blade out, did a somersault, she flipped 5 times and landed between Nyx and Libertus. She narrowed her eyes at the red giant who's still standing. She raised her right finger at it, all the stab wounds and cuts light up.

She smirked and snapped her finger, "Flare…"

The red giant exploded into a huge flaming ball and shot up destroying half of the stone arch above. The light is so bright that all the people looking at it have to shield their eyes or look away. When the light died down, they all gasped except Astraea as they saw what remained of the red Giant, it was cut in half waist down as its upper body is fully incinerated as smoke coming out of it. The remaining body part fell back and it disappeared in black smoke.

Astraea breathed a sigh of relief as she lowered her blade down.

_**"Who the hell is she!"**_ Nyx thought as he looked at her.

She noticed it at the corner of her eyes. She turned to him and smiled. Nyx nervously smiled back at her.

Astraea then turned around the looked at Noctis who still have a look of shock plastered on his face

"Are you okay Noct?" she was able to take one step when she felt her stamina fading, her eyes getting blurring. She stumbled down and used the rapier to stop her from falling. She leaned to it, cracks started to appear at the slender blade, and without warning it burst into smaller particles she went stumbling down. Before she hit the ground the prince was able to catch her.

"Astraea….." she could hear Noctis voice as she faded out of consciousness

**…**

As the sun rises all of them have returned to the crown city to tend to the injured Prince and Astraea. The prince has been brought into intensive care inside the citadel, they are able to heal his wound but not his shoulder. Astraea, on the other hand, has recovered and her wounds are nowhere to be seen, but the two remain asleep as the people inside the Citadel waited for their awakening in bated breath. The King could not sleep properly and did not attend any of his duty. He kept going back and front between Astraea and Noctis's bedroom. Every night he prayed to the Astrals to save both of them from harm. Saturday afternoon came, Regis together with Clarus went to the prince's bedroom and checked on him. When they arrived Noctis is still asleep so he went to his bedside and held his son's right hand close to his heart.

"Noctis," Regis said softly, "Sorry I was not at your side when you needed me, son,"

"Don't blame yourself for this, Your Majesty," Clarus said as he put his hand on the king's shoulder.

Regis turnED to him, "As for his father and King of this Kingdom, I failed to protect him and Astraea,"

"This is not your fault Regis," Clarus said and turned towards the terrace, "I know you're there, guardian, show yourself!"

As the winds blew the curtain inside Reno stepped inside and swiftly bow to the king.

"The shield is right, Your Majesty, your not to blame for this event." Reno said in a low voice, "If you have to blame somebody, blame me, I should have not left them there,"

"And you call yourself her guardian," Clarus mock, "She better off wi-"

Regis held his hand up to stop Clarus, as Regis saw the sincerity in Reno's eyes as he gazed at him.

"Clarus, you should not blame him, He helped us find them. He did not intend this to happen." Regis went towards him and put his hand on the guardian's shoulder. "Reno, you did everything you could, so don't overdo it, I know you did not sleep for these past days."

Reno chuckled, "You're truly a considerable King, The founder King will be proud of you," Reno stood up and smiled at the King, "But your shield is right, don't blame yourself, Your Majesty, and do what you advise me to do, take care of yourself. You still have a lot to do, the Prince and Astraea still needs you,"

Regis chuckled and patted his shoulder, "I will do that, so how is Astraea doing?"

"She's doing fine, Your Majesty, she's going to wake up soon, as for the prince," Reno glanced at the sleeping prince in the bed, "He's going to wake up at 3...2...1.."

"ASTRAEA!" Noctis bolted up.

"Noctis," Regis walked to his side and sat on his bedside.

"Dad?" Noctis turned to his father, "Where is she? Is she okay?"

Without warning, Regis hugged Noctis tightly and the prince whimpered in pain because of his shoulder. Regis heard his son whimper and break the embrace.

"Sorry my son, but she okay, she is her room,"

"I want to see her," Noctis said as he pushed the bedsheet and jumped out of his bed.

"Noctis stop," Regis held his hand in front of his son, "You still in pain my son, don't overdo it,"

As the King said Noctis knees buckled and he stumbled down, lucky his father caught him and brought him back to his bed.

"The king is right, you should not overdo it, Your Highness," Noctis turned to Reno.

Noctis looked at him trying his best to remember where he had seen him before, "Wait! I saw you at the diner,"

Before Reno could answer a commotion can be heard outside the hallway.

"Prompto you can just go inside the Citadel like this" a male voice called to him.

"Gladio is right, Prompto, we have procedures we need to follow." another man with the British accent said.

"Why can't I see him, I want to see the prince!" Prompto whined.

"Prompto?" Noctis whispered, "Dad can he come in?"

King Regis nodded and turned to Clarus, Clarus then proceeded to open the door without saying anything. When the double doors open Prompto when tumbling down as he leaning his ear against the door. Prompto bolted up and looked at the king Shield.

"Father," Gladio greeted his father, "Sorry about him, he won't listen,"

"It's okay, come this way, the prince is waiting for you," Clarus guided them on the other side of the room.

"Apology for our intrusion, Mr. Amicitia," Ignis bowed to him as he followed Prompto inside.

"NOCT! Buddy, you're okay!" Prompto chimed in as he went to his bedside and give him a bear hug.

Noctis winced in pain again. "Oh Sorry, buddy!" Prompto said

Noctis just smiled at him and said, "Sorry for making you worry, Prompto"

"It's okay buddy as long as you're okay now," Prompto backed away.

Noctis turned his attention towards his adviser and trainer, "Sorry that I put a lot of burden on all of you because of my reckless action," Noctis said as he squeezed his hand into fists.

"Did I hear that correctly, the prince apologizing, did that daemon knock sense and you're acting this way?" Gladio mocked as he crossed his arms.

"Indeed you never apologize," Ignis added.

"Yeah, Noct you never act this way, you're always so so distance and kept to yourself,"

"Argghh, I'm trying my best here," Noctis rubbed his hair in frustration. "That its I never gonna open myself to you guys." Noctis turned away and pouted.

The three friends laughed seeing the prince's reaction, Regis joined them.

"You have great friends at your side my son, treasure them," Regis said as he turned to the trio.

"Your Majesty," both Gladio and Ignis bowed their heads.

While Prompto left down founded and just looked at the King for this is the very first time he has met him. Gladio saw this and yanked his head down by force.

"Sorry, Your Majesty….. I mean, nice to meet you, I'm Prompto ..Prompto Argentum, the Prince's friend," he stammered in his words.

"What do you mean friend, You're my best friend," Noctis smiled at him.

Prompto bolted upright and looked at him "Really, I'm your best friend?"

"Yup, who else was the title the Prince's best friend,"

Prompto eyes glimmered as he smiled at him nervously.

Seeing how nervous the blonde teen in front of him Regis chuckled went to him and put a hand to his shoulder.

"Thank you for being there for my son," he said warmly.

"No, thank you, Your Majesty, I won't fail you, I will always be at the Prince side," he bowed down again.

"Enough of this warm stuff," Noctis puff, "Where is Astraea, is she alright?"

They all turn to him to see Noctis' smile fade and be replaced by worry.

"Astraea, you mean Astraea Lumina?" Ignis asked as he arranged his glasses.

"Yes her," Noctis answered, "By the way, Ignis do you still have a copy of the Report on Galahd, I want to read it."

"It's not in my possession at the moment, Your Highness, but I could get it for you."

"You don't need to do that Mr. Scientia," Regis said, "if you want Prince Noctis, I can tell you what you want to know about Lady Astraea," Regis turned to his son.

"Thanks, Dad, I'm mean Your Majesty," Noctis bowed down.

Regis just gave his son a warm smile "Okay then, Mr. Sinclair can you please tell the maids to prepare us snacks and drinks,"

"Right away, Your Majesty," Reno said as he walked out the door he stopped at the door and looked back.

"Your Majesty Please don't tell them about Astraea past," Reno said telepathically to the King.

"I'm not planning too, Reno, I will just tell them about what happened to Galahad, Astraea's secret will be safe, I promise" Regis reassured him.

"Ok then, I take my leave," Reno said as he closed the door behind him.

"Okay then can you stand up my son?"

" Yes, dad,

"Okay then let's talk about this in the living room," Regis said as he walked towards the living room.

"We will take our leave then, Your Majesty," Ignis bowed down and ready to leave but the King stopped them.

"Please stay,"

The trio stopped at their tracks and looked at the King.

"You need to know about Astraea history, for I know you're going to be friends in the future,"

The trio looked at each other and turned to the king,

"Yes, Your Majesty," They all answered in unison as they bowed their heads.

Just like Astraea the prince room is divided into two halves, One half is his bedroom and the other half is a living room set in front of the fireplace. Prompto helped Noctis to get to the other side of the room. Regis and Noctis took a seat on the two armchairs while the trio took a seat on the sofa. Clarus just remain standing near the door. After seeing that the Prince and his friend comfortable on their seats he took a deep breath and proceed to tell them about Astraea family history. Just like what he promised to Reno, Regis just told them about Astraea and her life in Galahd. About how Zack and Aerith Lumina found her abandoned and raised her as their own child. The recent attack by the empire and about Zack Lumina's death and the plans of the empire to capture her. But Regis did not tell them about the phoenix incident and Astraea accidentally destroying Galahd. He told them about her power that they still looking for an answer to why she was them. The four listen intently to him and asked a few questions there and then. After 15 minutes Reno returned remain standing beside Clarus. As the king continued his story.

"Wow, Astraea seems to be a cool girl," Prompto piped up, "Hey Noct have you since the video?"

"What video?" Noctis turned to him with raised eyebrows.

"Here, looks like the driver you save has recorded her fighting the daemon," Prompto connected his phone to the flat screen and showed the video, "She is amazing!"

"Astraea won't like this…" Reno said telepathically to Regis and Clarus as they watched the video.

Even after watching it a few times, Gladio, Ignis, and Prompto still have amazement in their eyes as they watch the video. Noctis just stayed silent as they continued to watch it. After the video ends Noctis stood up.

"I need to see her, where is she?"

"You don't need to, Your Highness," Reno stepped forward.

"What do you mean?" Noctis glanced at him.

"I'm mean she will find you," Reno smiled as he opened the double doors.

Noctis is about to ask when he heard a familiar voice.

"NOCT!"

Seconds later Astraea came running down the hallway. She passed the prince door.

"Oppsss…."

They heard her skidding on the marble floor. Then she ran back to the open door as she leaned her hands to the door frame while catching her breath. Her brown eyes survived the room, she smiled when he saw the Prince standing at the armchair opposite to the king. Her tears started to fall when she ran, no sprinted up to him.

"NOCTIS!"

Noctis went to meet her but because of her speed, she could not stop, she went past the living room set and the Prince and skid towards the wall.

BAM! Astraea hit the bookshelves in such force that all the books fell on her.

"ASTRAEA!" Noctis screamed as he knelt beside her.

"I take my leave then," Reno said as he closed the door behind him.

Astraea sat up while holding her head and looked at Noctis with one eye open. "I was so worried about you, are you okay?" she said while sobbing.

"I'm fine, you should ha-"

Astraea suddenly lunged at him and hugged him. Noctis fell on his back as he hugged her back.

"Thank the Astrals you're okay," she said while laying in the chest.

"Astraea can you…" Noctis trailed off as he glanced down at her.

Astraea looked at him, her cheeks turned red, she bolted up, "Ah.. yes sorry," she held her hand to him Noctis shook his head as he took it.

Early that day…...

_Astraea slowly opened her eyes only to see the Lucis's crest in the white marble ceiling above. She tried to move but it's pointless, she could hear slow breathing._

_**"Am I dreaming again? **she thought. _

_A door opened and she heard a female voice._

_"Good your already awake Astraea,"_

_She felt herself turned sideways then sat up, she saw her reflection in the mirror._

_**"It's her again," **Astraea could see the female who was the same name and appearance as her. __**"Who are you?**_" _the lingering question on her mind as she felt other Astraea turned towards the other person in the room._

_"Oh, hello Lady Aera," Astraea greeted her with a smile as she stood up but her knees gave way and she stumbled down, Aera was quick and was able to catch her. _

_"Don't overdo it Astraea, just sit down for a bit,"_

_Astraea did what Aera said and sat down at the edge of her circular bed. _

_"What happened?" she said while clutching her head._

_"Reno said that you lost consciousness when the two of you arrived here," Aera sat down and faced her._

_**"Reno? Where have I heard that name before?, I need to learn more about her."**Astraea just said to herself as she continued to watch._

_"Again? I always like this, I'm weak and always cause trouble," she lowered her head down._

_"Nobody is saying that Astraea," Aera raised her head and tucked a hair behind her right ear. "Being weak is nothing to be ashamed of…. Staying weak is. So don't give up we are here for you,"_

_Astraea smiled, "Thank you Lady Aera,"_

_"I told you don't call me Lady Aera anymore, call me sister, Afterall me and Ardyn will be married soon."_

_"Wow, I almost forgot about that, finally I'm going to have a sister!"_

_Aera saw the excitement in her eyes, they both giggled. _

_"So where is Reno?" she saw the brush in Aera hand, so she turned around to let Aera brush her hair._

_"He went to get those Ulwaat Berries you like," Aera informed her as she started brushing her hair._

_"So who long did I sleep for?"_

_"Two days," _

_"Really that long," she glanced back._

_"Yup, your brothers were very worried about you,"_

_"So, Somnus and Ardyn are not angry with me anymore?" she turned to her and held Aera's hands gently._

_"Nope," Aera replied happily as she lowered her hands down and patted Astraea hand, "You still in trouble,"_

_Astraea gulped "So where is Somn- ,"_

_"ASTRAEA!" Somnus's voice boom outside the hallway as her double door flew open._

_"Eeek," she shrieked as she dove side of her bed._

_"Astraea I knew you're there, come out," Somnus said as he stopped at the other side of the bed with his arms crossed._

_Astraea rose slowly "Oh, hi Big Brother, how can I help you?" she said in a cheerful voice._

_"Don't play with me Astraea," Somnus glared at her._

_"How many times we told yo-" Somnus started to raise his voice, Astraea winced in hearing his voice._

_Seeing this Somnus softened the expression on his face and walked towards her, Astraea closed her eyes preparing for the worse as she felt Somnus hand gently patting her head. She looked up to see Somnus sapphire eyes looking at her lovingly as the anger on his face disappeared._

_"We are so worried about you, sister, please don't do that ever again," Somnus said as he hugged her._

_Astraea surprised in his expression but returned his hug._

_"I'm sorry brother, because of me, you were injured," she said as she held her tears._

_"No, it's okay, I'm your big brother it's my duty to protect you," Somnus broke their embrace._

_Astraea gave him a warm smile and he returned it._

_"So dear sister, where do you hide your weapons?" Somnus's smile faded as he looked straight into her crimson eyes._

_"My weapons?" Astraea tilted her head, "I don't know where they are, I thought you already had them," she said innocently as her eyes twinkle._

_"No, now give it to me," Somnus held his right hand to her._

_Astraea backed away, "I told you I don't kno-"_

_"It's in the Gazebo in the lotus pond, inside the red vase," Ardyn said as he walked in carrying a wine glass._

_Astraea turned to him, "Ardyn you said you will not tell," she pouted at him._

_"Sorry dearest sister but," he jested as he drinks, "You need to learn your lesson," _

_"Our brother is right Astraea, you need to control your po-"_

_Before Somnus could finish Astraea climbed over her bed and sprinted towards the open door and made a sharp turn and ran blazing through the corridor._

"Wow, for someone who doesn't have warping skills, she sure ran fast," Ardyn said as he drank again.

"Astraea don't you dare hide your weapon from me!" Somnus shouted as he used his ability to follow his sister.

Ardyn chuckled as he looked to the open door.

"My love, what did I say about drinking?" Aera walked over to him.

Ardyn quickly turned to Aera and hid the drink behind him "Aera!, I did not see you there my love," Ardyn said nervously.

Aera just gave him a deadpan expression and held her hand up. "Give me that, it's too early to drink wine."

"But-"

"No, buts! Give me that and go follow Somnus and Astraea and stop them before they wreak havoc inside the palace. "

Ardyn just sighed and gave in and handed Aera the drink, "I'm always doing this…." Ardyn mumbled under his breath.

Aera heard it and said, "Maybe if you act as a real Big Brother they will not follow you, after all the three of you act mischievously in our little way."

This earns a chuckle from Ardyn "That's why you fell in love with me in the first place my dear Aera," Ardyn leaned in to kiss her on the cheek and warped away.

"Ardyn Luci-" Ardyn could hear Aera shouting in the distance as he warps away.

At the grand hall, Reno pouch in hand is slowly walking up the grand staircase when Astraea passed him sliding on the railing.

_"Hi, Reno…. Astraea happily greeted him, "Bye Reno ..."_

_Seconds later Reno could hear Somnus's voice._

_"Astraea come back here!" Somnus shouted as he warped down the staircase and followed Astraea._

_Reno stopped and looked back when Ardyn warped beside him and whacked his back. "Welcome back BIG BIRD," Ardyn then chuckled and warped towards where his siblings went._

_Reno sighed, "WHY..oh. Why? that you chose them to be your warriors dear Astrals," he put the pouch in his pocket as he followed Ardyn down the hall._

_Outside Astraea is still running fast, she saw two maids in front of her. _

_"Coming through!" Astraea shouted._

_The two white-haired maids shrieked as she passed them._

_"Sorry, Mecia and Claudia!" Astraea called them while glancing back._

_"Looks like they are at it again," Mecia said as he rolled her eyes._

_Claudia giggled, "They never did change one bit." _

_Both of them shrieked again as Somnus warped passed them._

_"Sorry," Somnus apologized to them without stopping._

_"Morning ladies," Ardyn smiled at them._

_"Good morning Lord Ardyn," They both greeted him with a bow._

_"Please forgive them and prepare our breakfast."_

_"Right away Lord Ardyn," They bowed again as Ardyn walked past them._

_Astraea laughed as she saw in the distance the marble gazebo and the red vase in the middle of it. But her smile faded away when Somnus warped passed her._

_"No!" she cried out as Somnus arrived at the gazebo first and took her rapier from the vase. Somnus looked at her and smirked._

_"No! Give me that!" Astraea dove towards him._

_Somnus held it in front of him in the flash of blue light, it disappeared, he quickly stepped aside as Astraea passed him and went straight into the pond._

_SPLASH The water went into the air. The reflected sun rays created a mini rainbow._

_"Do you need any help sister?" Somnus smirked as he leaned on one of the marble columns._

_Astraea just glared at him as she brushed her wet hair up to her forehead._

_"Not fair," she mumbled._

_ Somnus laughed and held a hand towards her. Astraea took it and went inside the gazebo. Somnus saw that she was shivering, he took off his black cape and put it over her shoulder. _

_"You know you can make me feel better if you give me back my rapier," she looked at him with puppy dog eyes._

_"That may work on our brother but it won't work for me, so where are your daggers, give it to me," he held his right palm up, and jerked all four fingers at himself._

_I don't have my dagger," Astraea said as she tightened the cape around her shoulder._

_Before Somnus could ask Ardyn arrived._

_"Looks like you lose Astraea," Ardyn said while laughing at her. _

_Astraea puff just turned her head in the other direction._

_"Astraea your dagger now!" Somnus ordered again._

_"I said I don't hav-"_

_"I have it, Lord Somnus," Reno suddenly said as he walked towards them._

_"Reno don't you dare!" Astraea glared at him._

_"**Reno? Wait, where did I see him before?" **Astraea thought as she tried to remember where she saw the red-haired._

_"Sorry Astraea but Somnus is right, you need some rest," Reno turned to Somnus and handed him the twin dagger, "Here Somnus,"_

_"Traitor!" Astraea said as she walked past him and Ardyn._

_"Astraea stop!"_

_Astraea stopped as she heard Somnus call her she turned around and with warning Somnus threw the twin daggers at her. She was able to catch it with ease. _

_"Use it only for emergency, okay, but as for Rapier I will return it to you after 3 months,"_

_"What 3 months I thought, I won the wager, it should be only a week!"_

_"Yes, you won our bet but destroying the desert nullified it," Somnus crossed his arms and smirked at her. _

_"Somnus is right, follow his order Astraea, and go change we will have our breakfast," Ardyn said as he put his hand on her head._

_"FINE!" Astraea puffed as she turned around and stomped away. "I hate you all!"_

_Ardyn, Somnus, and Reno laughed "Love you too," They all answered in unison._

_"HATE YOU!" Astraea shouted back._

_Back in Astraea room, she started to change clothes when Reno appeared out of nowhere._

_"Oh, sorry," Reno turned away. _

_"It's okay, Aera said you went to get berries?" Astraea asked._

_"Here it is, you know the Ulwaat Berries are hard to find," Reno threw her the pouch not turning his head. "So please stop ordering to get it,"_

_"Aww… but it's my favorite," Astraea smiled as she caught it, "Thanks, Reno, you are truly an amazing guardian,"_

_"Of course," Reno snickered back, "Are you done, I'm very hungry now, let's eat" Reno glanced back his smiling face turned into terror to see Astraea unconscious on the ground._

_"Astraea!" he shouted as he ran to her side._

Astraea slowly opened her eyes to see the familiar canopy of her bed. She sat up and saw her mother reading a book at her bedside.

"Mother?" Astraea softy said.

"Astraea," Aerith lowered the book down and hugged her, "Thank goodness you're awake, you had us worried,"

"Sorry mother," as he hugged her back, she jerked back "Where Noctis, I mean the Prince?"

Aerith looked at her suppressed by her sudden action. "The Prince is still asleep in his chamber, I can take you there," Aerith stood up and went towards the side table to get a glass of water, "But first you need to-" Aerith turned only to find Astraea' bed empty and the bedroom door wide open.

In the hallway, Mecia and Claudia are carrying a tray of food. They shrieked when Astraea went past them.

"Wait…." Astraea skidded to a stop and looked at them, "Where is the Prince chamber?" she asked them.

"5th floor, at the north wing," Claudia said.

"Thanks," she bowed and sprinted towards the Prince chamber.

-Present-

Reno is his bird form is watching from the window ledge outside.

_**"Finally both Ifrit's flames and Bahamut's light has been awoken,"**_ Reno thought as he looked through the window to see the smiling face of Astraea, _**"Soon Astraea, you will able to save him too, but for now the two of you should not meet," **_Reno sighed to see Noctis rubbing Astraea hair, it cause Astraea to punch him in his injured shoulder, _**"Things do never changed," **_Reno looked up to the sky while smiling.

**…**

Across the great sea, on one of the Niflheim Magnetik facilities. Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo lead by two Imperial soldiers walked silently on the metal hallway of the facility. They stop at the door, one of the soldiers open the door.

"The Chancellor is waiting," the soldier gestured for them to go inside.

The trio silver-haired teens went inside. Inside them found it's just a small office with small living sets. They walked towards the coffee table to find scattered photos of Astraea. They walked further in towards the table in front of the fireplace to find a red velvet desk chair facing the fire.

"You call us Chancellor Izunia?" Kadaj said using a stern voice.

"Ah yes," a male voice piped as the chair turned to them, "But please enough with the formalities, call me Ardyn," Ardyn smirked at the three teens. "Wine?" Ardyn gestured to the wine glass in his hand the trio shook their head.

"So what do you want Chancellor?" Kadaj crossed his arms.

"Well someone told me that you knew her," Ardyn turned his computer screen at them to show them the video of Astraea fighting the Red giant.

Kadaj narrowed his cat-eye green eyes at the monitor, "Yes, Astraea, that monster!" Kadaj snarled.

"Ohh. Good," Ardyn chuckled, "So can you tell me about her?"

"What do you want to know,"

Ardyn put his wine glass down and put his elbows on the table and leaned his chin in at the back of his hands.

"Everything…" Ardyn said as a sinister smile ran across his lips as his amber eyes glowed in the light of the fire.

* * *

A/N: I don't know if my fighting scenes are good. I want Astraea to fight like my favorite rapier user, The Ice Queen herself Weiss Schnee! Love her in RWBY. And yes I got the idea to make Astraea left-handed from her and from my favorite Final Fantasy villain of all the great Sephiroth! and yes he will appear in this story.

THANK YOU! Hope you enjoy this and have a wonderful day!

Next chapter _Solheim And War Of The Astrals_


	13. Chapter 11

**_A/N: _**Can't find any anime or game quote suited for this chapter I decided to put a quote from Bertrand Russell. Sorry for the long update and this chapter is kinda boring there no action on but it full of information about my own take on Solheim history. Hope you enjoy:)

I will be adding another two-characters that will have a bigger role in the future. One of them is my 3rd favorite male character of the Final Fantasy series

* * *

**Solheim and War Of The Astrals**

"_War does not determine who is right...only who is left" -Bertrand Russell_

* * *

Noctis grandly took Astraea extended hand as he rose to his feet.

"I'm glad that you are alright Astra," Noctis said with a smile on his face.

"Me, too" Astraea smiled back at him but it soon faded and as guilt took it placed "I'm very sorry, Your Highness, because of my reckless actioned I put your life in danger," Astraea said in a low and shaking voice as she hung her head down her hair falling on both sides of her face as it flickered black to red, red to black.

Noctis laughed, "Don't worry about that and what is happening to your hair, you look like a stoplight flickering," he went and rubbed her hair mockingly.

A vein popped out in my Astraea's forehead, without warning she punched the prince in his injured shoulder.

"OUCH!" Noctis jumped back as he held his injured shoulder.

"I serious Noctis!" Astraea screamed at him as tears started to fall, her eyes flickering from brown to red, red to brown.

"I'm sorry okay, it's a joke please don't cry Astra," Noctis said as he tried to comfort her. "I'm okay see, you don't have to worry," he said as he patted her on the head.

Astraea glared it him, Noctis stepped away ready for another attack when Astraea lunged at him and hugged him again. Noctis eyes widened as he returned the hug. They stay like that as the people around them watch in silence.

"ASTRAEA!" Aerith shouted from the hallway.

Astraea jumped and break their embrace and hid behind the Prince. Aerith stormed the room and saw the king, "Good afternoon, Your Majesty," she greeted him with a bow. Regis just nodded at her and he gestured towards the prince, Aerith saw her daughter hiding behind him.

Aerith walked over and stopped in front of the prince. "I'm glad you're doing fine, Your Highness," she bowed down.

"Thank you Mrs. Lumina," Noctis said shyly.

"Astraea," Aerith said as she looked over the prince and saw Astraea looking down at her feet.

Noctis stepped away Astraea saw this and tried to grab his clothes but failed. She looked at him pleading to help her.

"Sorry.." he whispered as he took another step back.

"Astraea," Aerith called her name this time with more authority.

Astraea jumped and shifted her feet and looked straight at her mother.

"You grounded for a month,"

"A month! that's too much!" she retorted."

"You want to add another month to it?" Aerith said as she crossed her arms.

"No," Astraea uttered and lowered her head.

"Good, now, I will be taking hunter's badge,"

"What!" she looked up as she saw her mother staring down at her, "Fine," she mumbled and unclipped the necklace, "How about my dagger, do I need to surrender it?" Astraea said as she pulled out the dagger from her waist.

"How did you get that?" Aerith asked as she grabbed both items.

"It was laying beside me, so grab it by instinct after all hunter is always ready for any," Astraea smile innocently.

"It was lying beside you?" Aerith tilted her head, "I thought I hide it in the -" Aerith stopped as she saw Reno in her peripheral vision looking from the outside. She glared at him knowing that Reno is the one who took the dagger and put it beside Astraea while she was sleeping. Reno just smiled and duck down.

"What are you looking at mother?" Astraea turned towards the window only to see nothing but the clear blue sky.

"Nothing my dear," Aerith bent down and brushed away the hair her face and tucked it behind her ear, "Are you sure your okay?"

"Yes, mother, you don't have to worry about me," she smiled and hugged her mother Aerith return the hug and gently stroke her hair.

"Excuse me Mrs. Lumina," Noctis said in a low voice.

They both turned to him as they break their embrace, "May I borrow Astraea for a while, I want her to meet my friends,"

Aerith smiled at him "Of course, Your Highness," she pushed Astraea towards him,"

Astraea eyes hovered around the room to see three people she does not know, seeing this Astraea took a step back. Noctis saw this without thinking he grabbed Astraea right hand and pulled her and as they walk over the coffee table. Without thinking as her anxiety kicks in, she stopped and yanked her hand from the prince's grip.

"Astra?" Noctis looked back at her and saw how anxious she was, "Are you ok-"

Prompto suddenly jumped between them and introduced himself.

"Hello!" Prompto greeted with cheerful voice, "I'm Prompto, Prompto Argentum, The Prince's classmate, and best friend," Prompto smiled and went for a hug.

Astraea eyes flickered as she took a step back. Noctis saw it he stepped in front of Prompto and he pushed him back by holding his right hand to the blonde's face.

"Ouch! What's that for Noct?" Prompto pouted as he stepped back. But his expression changed when she saw Astraea face. "Oh.. are you alright, did I say or do something wrong?" Prompto said his cheerful voice became low and sad.

"What no!" Astraea whispered as she took a step forward. "I just a little nervous, I don't like meeting new people and my anxiety is very high right now."

"Oh," Prompto said as he scratched the back of his head. "I know the feeling," he muttered as he looked at her.

Astraea saw how sad Prompto is so she took a deep breath and walked forward.

"Nice to meet you Prompto, Noctis did tell me about you," Astraea said with a smile as she extended her right hand. "I'm Astraea...Astraea Lumina, but you can call me Astra,"

Prompto face lit up as he grabbed her hand with both hands and shook it eagerly.

"Really, nice to meet you too! so what things did Noct told you about me?"

"Well," Astraea glanced at Noctis who's standing by her side, Noctis smiled and nodded at her. Astraea then turned to Prompto and gave him a sweet smile. "Well, he said that you were quite a chubby one in your middle school days that you changed yourself just to be friends with him,"

"WHAT!" Prompto cheeks turn red as he looked at Prince, "No fair Noct! You said you never tell anyone about that!"

"I never did promise a thing," Noctis chuckled.

Prompto crossed his arms and pouted, Astraea and Noctis glanced at each then burst out laughing.

"Hey stop laughing!" Prompto whined his cheeks become redder by the second.

It caused another burst of laughter from the two. Prompto just slumped his shoulders in defeat.

"Ahem…" Prompto looked back to see Gladiolus standing behind him. So he stepped aside to give him space to walk through. As the two teens stop laughing and compose themselves.

"Astraea, this is Gladiolus Amicitia," Noctis step forward and gestured to him.

Astraea gazed up at Gladiolus, "**_Amicitia?"_** she thought as she looked him in the eye for several seconds that when it hit her. She remembered what Noctis told her back in the diner. "Amicitia, you mean the shield's son!"

"Yes, but call me Gladio for short, Lady Astraea," Gladio smiled at her as he extended a hand.

Astraea gulped as she remembered what she did in the training room, "Sorry about knocking you out in the training room the other day," Astraea shook in his hand slowly.

"What Gladio got knocked out?" Prompto piped.

"Yup, Astraea knocked him out cold," Noctis snickered beside Prompto.

Gladio glanced down and glared daggers at them. Both teens gulped nervously and straightened themselves up and back away from the future shield.

Seeing how angry Gladio was Astraea quickly bowed her head down, "I'm very very sorry Sir, Amicitia. I didn't mean to do it, I was caught off guard and my instinct kicked in," she apologized profusely as her hair started flickering again.

"Woah. Woah… I not angry Lady Astraea, please to do that," Gladio gently put his hand on her shoulder not to startle her. Astraea looked up to see him smiling, "To be honest I'm very impressed, maybe you can teach the Prince a thing or two about fighting, after all, you save him right?" Gladio glanced at the Prince, "I thought the Prince should do the saving, not the Princess," Gladio smirked at Noctis.

"What did you say!" Noctis raised his voice and marched to him, "I did save her, I'm just not that good enough, that means your training is not good either!"

"It's that so, Your Highness," Gladio crossed his arms, "How about we train a lot more now and increase your difficulty level,"

"Okay, you're on Gladio!"

The future shield just smiled at him, "I will be expecting a lot more from you now Noct, we will train every day after you shoulder heal, got it?"

"Okay, then just don't be surprised if I beat your ass in the future," Noctis answer with confidence.

"Can I join?" Astraea asked with a sweet and charming smile.

"Of course Lady Astraea," Gladio said as he bowed down.

"Can you please stop calling me Lady Astraea, you can call me Astraea better yet call me Astra" she smiled at him.

"If that what lady requested then I will follow,"

"Thank you, Sir, Amicitia,"

"I told you to call me Gladio, La-" Gladio stopped, "I mean Astra," Gladio smiled and winked at her.

Astraea just smiled back at him, "Okay Gladio, and nice to meet you and sorry again for knocking you out," she extended her hand again and Gladio gladly took it and shook it.

"Don't worry about it and I will be expecting you in training in the future Astra,"

"Sure, can't wait for that," they both smiled at each other.

"Pardon me, Gladio," Ignis said behind Gladio, Gladio turned around to see Ignis on his feet and looking at Astraea.

"I believe it's my turn to introduce myself," Ignis said while stepping forward the future shield step aside to let him through and Ignis stopped and stood in front of Astraea and smile gently at her.

Noctis stepped forward, "I almost forget Astra this is my adviser and crownsguard," Noctis said as he gestured to Ignis. "Igni-" Astraea spoke up and not let the prince finished.

"You meet actually in the hallway right?"

"Yes, It was me," Ignis said, "Are you alright, we bumped into each other pretty hard," Ignis said with a concerned tone.

"Actually, I bumped into you and I'm fine," Astraea smiled shyly and held her hand, "I'm Astraea, Astraea Lumina, but you can call me Astra,"

"Ignis Scientia, Milady," Ignis bowed and took her hand but instead of shaking it he kissed, "Astraea is such a beautiful name, I don't want to shorten it, can I call you in your full name Lady Astraea?" Ignis questioned as he rose up and gazed at her eyes intently and not letting go on her hand.

Astraea gazed back at him, "Ahh.. well.." she stuttered as Ignis keep gazing at her, she locked eyes at him they stay like that for a minute, like everything in the room vanished and like they are the only two people in the room. Astraea's eyes slowly turning into crimson it reflected into Ignis's emerald eyes.

"**_Beautiful…_**" she thought as she felt something inside her, open up and she felt nostalgic. Another minute past Astraea eyes is now fully crimson and as the two still looking at each other, not minding stares they got from the people in the room.

"Ahem.." Noctis cleared his throat loudly that snapped the two from their trance as Astraea eyes returned to normal.

Astraea withdrew her hand and held it close to her chest, "If you want Mr. Scientia you can call me that, but please drop the Lady part" Astraea cheeks blushed as she turned her head sideways.

"Alright then, you don't have to call me Mr. Scientia just call me Ignis," Ignis smiled warmly at her she turned to him and smiled back, "I almost forgot, I would like to return this," Ignis took a red ribbon out his pocket and handed it to Astraea. She saw the red ribbon her smiled widened.

"I was looking for that thank you.." Astraea took the ribbon, "I thought I lost it," Astraea said while tying her hair into a high ponytail. "That better.." she said she twirled around and her hair swaying gracefully.

"Beautiful.." Ignis whispered but enough to be heard in the whole room. The room went silent, Astraea stopped and looked at him. Ignis noticed this and straighten his tie awkwardly, "You must be hungry Astraea, have eaten yet?" Ignis questioned.

"No.." Astraea answered and turned to Noctis who looking at Ignis in a weird way, "What about you Noct, have you eaten?"

Noctis turned his attention to her, "No, not yet, if you want we can eat togt-"

The Prince could not finish his sentence when they heard a knock in the room. Clarus opened it and Reno stepped inside. "Your Majesty, the snacks are ready in the dining hall,"

Regis stood up and gestured towards the door, "Shall we?"

The five teens nodded and followed the King and his shield as they exited the room. Reno just stood at doors as the four boys pass him. Astraea and her mother are the last people to leave the room Astraea stopped and looked at him.

"You Sinclair right, Reno Sinclair?"

"Yes, Milady, is there something wrong," Reno asked as Astraea keep looking at him.

"I remembered you having red hair and a pony and your eyes are blue and have marks on your cheek," Astraea said as she stepped closer to examine Reno's face.

"Sorry I don't know what you're talking about milady, I always have this eye and hair color, it must be the heat in the desert."

"No, I really remember you having red hair," Astraea said while scratching her chin.

"Astra what taking you so long, let go I'm hungry!" Noctis called out to her from the hallway.

"Coming!" Astraea called back, "Well if you said so nice seeing you again Mr. Sinclair,"

"Please call me Reno," he smiled at her and she smiled back and ran after the prince. Reno took a deep sigh of relief. "That was close,"

"Are you really that afraid that Astraea will remember you?" Aerith asked a stopped beside him.

"Yes terrified, I don't know how she will react," Reno said a scratch his cheeks.

"Sooner or later you have to tell her even just a little bit after all by the way she looked at you she clearly remembered you,"

"I know but if that time comes, I hope she can accept me and her fate,"

"I know she can do that I have faith in her," Aerith paused as she held her hand on her heart "You must be hungry you want to join us?" Aerith asked as she followed her daughter.

"I liked that," Reno said as he closed the door.

**…**

In the dining hall and maids and the chef had prepared a small fest for the fast recovery of the Prince and Lady Astraea. Noctis held a chair of Astraea and her mother and they took it and Astraea sat middle between the prince and her mother while the other three sat in front of them. Regis took and seat in the middle of the dining table as he looked at the teens enjoying their snack. Astraea stopped eating and went to Reno who's standing in the door with Clarus.

"Here, Reno who must be hungry," Astraea said as she handed him a plate of chicken sandwich. Reno glanced down at the plate and shook his head. "Thanks, Lady Astraea, I not hungry," Astraea pouted, "I said don't call me Lady anymore just Astra!" Reno laughed, "Okay then Astra, but I not really hungry but thanks anyway," Astraea puff and turned her heels and went at the table and continue eating.

After a minute Mecia and Claudia walked in pushing serving table on wheels with different drinks on it. "Is there anything you like to drink?"Mecia asked as she bowed down.

"Yes, soda for me please," Noctis said.

"Me too.."Prompto piped up.

"Coldwater for me please," Gladio raised in his hand.

"What about you Astra and Sir Scientia?" Claudia asked as she walked behind Astraea.

"Coffee for me.." both Astraea and Ignis said in unison. They both looked surprised and looked at each other.

"And what kind of coffee?" Mecia added.

"Ebony," They answered in unison again.

"Here you go," both maids handed them their drink and they took it and thank the maids after.

"You like coffee?" Ignis asked with raised eyebrows as he was seated in front of her.

"Yes, I loved it," Astraea answered with a smile. "I kinda got it from my parents, Hunters really love their coffee,"

"Well then, you must come with me to my favorite coffee shop, they serve a huge variety of coffee, you will love it Astraea," Ignis stated as he smiled at her.

"Of course I would love that but-" she paused and looked at her mother, "After I'm done being grounded of course."

"Certainly, I will wait for that day, Astraea,"

Astraea cheeks blush red again and lowered her head and drink her coffee. Gladio opposite of Aerith whistle to Prompto who sitting in front of the Prince. The blonde turned to him, Gladio to gestured his eyes to him to look at the prince. Who now giving his advisor death stares as Ignis continued having a conversation with Astraea.

Prompto saw this a grin ran across his face."Are you okay Noct?"

"Noctis turned to him, "Yes why?"

"Well, looks like you going to kill Ignis with your eyes." Prompto leaned in the table whispered to him. "Are you jealous?"

"What no I'm not!" Noctis shouted.

Both Ignis and Astraea stop and looked at him

"What wrong Noct?" Astraea asked.

"Nothing, my shoulder is just aching but I'm fine, just continue eating," Noctis said and smiled at her.

Both Prompto and Gladio grinned at Noctis, the Prince just glared at them.

While adults are just watching the teens in silence with a smile on their faces. The five teens exchanged happy and cheerful conversations after a while the King decided to go and to attend the council meeting. So the King left with his shield with Aerith. Leaving just Reno to watch the five teens alone. A smile ran across Reno's face when he saw Astraea smiling and enjoying the company of the four boys. But that changed when Prompto projected Astraea the video of her fighting. Astraea happy and cheerful demeanor changed state of panic and fear. Her hair and eyes started to flicker erratically as her body temperature rose up and she stepped away from them.

"Astra are you okay?" Noctis asked as he held a hand towards her.

"No! stop don't go near me!" Astraea screamed a hint of fear visible in her voice. Astraea shakily revealed to them about her past, how the people of Galahd treated her after knowing what she can do and what Kadaj and his brother did, that she burned the entire island and hurt so many people in the process. She feared that the people of Insomnia will daemonize her and send her and her mother away.

The four boys' eyes widen as they went to her side immediately to comfort her.

"Don't think like that Astra!" Prompto said as he projected her the comments of the video. They are all positive and they even want to meet in person.

"Yes, Prompto is right, but if some people will not want you and hurt you, will be right here to protect you," Gladio said as he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Gladio is right, we will protect you, Astra," Noctis said sincerely as he hugged her.

Astraea just stood there her hair and eyes stop flickering.

"Really? You don't fear me?" Astraea asked as her tears started to fall.

"Fear you? no, we won't do that, I promise," Noctis reassumed her as rubbed her back gently.

"His Highness is right always here for you, after all, we're friends now Astraea," Ignis said as he gazed into her eyes and handed her a handkerchief.

Astraea stopped crying and wipe her tears she then looked at each of them and smiled. "Thank you…"

The four boys just smiled back at her and they continue their conversation in the dining table.

"**_You in good hands Astraea.."_** Reno thought as he watched in silence. "**You will be alright," **

When Astraea was able to calm down she asked Noctis if he can show her the sky bridge she was not able to see it. Noctis happily accepted it and now they headed towards the door. When Aerith came back and stopped them. Aerith said that the King and the council wanted an audience with her. Astraea went into panic once again this time her mother is the one who comforted her and said that everything will be alright that they just want to see her in person. Astraea with her mother and the four boys encouragement she said yes. Now the six of them in now heading towards the council room with Reno walking behind them. They are riding the elevator when Reno heard the King speaking to him telepathically.

"Reno, there is a problem."

"What is it, Your Majesty," Reno answered back.

"The council wanted to know where Astraea got her power, they started to fear her now if this continues I will not be able to protect her, Reno,"

"Leave it to me, Your Majesty, maybe it's time to let the people know about Solheim, just play along with me.." Reno said as he glanced at Astraea who's holding Noctis hand. He saw how anxious and the fear in her eyes. "**_I know this will be a great burden for you Astraea, but this is the only way to protect you."_** Reno thought as they exited the elevator and continued to walk towards the council room. When they arrived they saw the council members with a few palace people Including Cor, Quistis and her two maids. Astraea noticed the three Kingsglaives standing near the column. All the people turned to them when they entered the room. Their gaze fixated at the Fire Maiden, Astraea saw this she trembled inside while backing away but Reno to stop her and put two reassuring hands in her shoulder and push her inside. Two council members gave their seats for Astraea and The Prince they took a seat at the end of the long table. While his friends and Aerith stood behind them with Reno. Astraea lowered her head down as the King started to talk.

"Were are here today to talk about the recent event if there is any question, you can speak," Regis said with authority.

"Pardon me, Your Majesty," Drautos raised his hand all the attention turned to him, "This is a secret meeting why is there civilian here," Drautos said as he looked towards the three teens.

"They are our friends and if we will talk about Astraea future in the Citadel, I want them to be here, we promise Astra to protect her," Noctis said as he glared at the captain in the Kingsglaive in the eye. Before Drautos could speak Regis took the lead.

"The prince is right, I will allow them to listen, after all, they know about Astraea ability now there no hiding it," Regis said as he gazed at Astraea who's head is still lower.

"If that what you wish Your Majesty," Drautos said as he bowed down.

"Your Majesty I have a question," the councilwoman spoke up, "Lady-Astraea?" she turned to her.

Astraea jolted up and looked at the councilwomen with tears in her eyes.

"Yes.." she whispered.

"First of all thank you for saving the crown prince, but I question where do you ability come from and do you have full control all it?"

Astraea eyes started to blink as her anxiety is now raising up, "Sorry but I don't know where my ability came from and yes I can control it but.." she paused and looked down at her hands that started to shake. "Sometimes I will lose control of it, if my emotions got out of hand."

After saying that the council members started to murmured, Astraea now in the state of going into a full-blown panic attack. Reno saw and this stepped forward.

"If I may, I have the answers to your questions," Reno said as he walked towards the middle of the table.

"And who are you?" Drautos questioned.

"Sinclair…. Reno Sinclair, Astraea personal Crownsguard," he bowed down towards the council while bowing he caught a glimpse of Astraea who was looking at him wide-eyed he just smiled at her as he rose up and look at Drautos, "And you are?"

"I'm Titus Drautos captain of the kingsglaive."

"Captain of the glaives huh…" Reno said as he looked behind him and saw the three glaives at the diner he smiled at them, but Nyx, Libertus and Crowe just glared at him. Reno just shrugged his shoulders and turned towards the councilwoman.

"I have the answer, but are all of you willing to listen and keep this a secret?" The council's members just looked at him, "Because the fate of Eos is depended on it," he said as he leaned his hands on the table, "Before I go, promise me that things I am going to reveal here will stay a secret, nobody outside the room can know," Reno said as he gazed at every person in the room and landed lastly on the King. The council's members turned toward the King.

"The council will promise that," The council members nodded at King remarked.

Reno turned towards the three teens.

"You have my word," Ignis said in the back.

"Yeah, I promise to," Prompto nervously said.

"As the future shield, I promise, Sinclair."

Then Reno turned towards the Glaives.

"We are loyal to the King, we won't say a thing," Nyx answered.

Reno then turned towards the very back to Cor and the other, They all nodded their head and said in unison, "We promise,"

"Everyone is now sworn to secrecy, go ahead Sinclair,"

"Well then thank you, Your Majesty, so let's start on where it all began, does anyone of you know about an ancient civilization called Solheim?"

"I know" Ignis raised his hand, Astraea turned her gaze at him, "It's history lesson here in the Citadel, That the Solheim is the old civilization 2000 years ago. They worship the Infernian, Ifrit the God of Fire," Ignis paused and looked at Reno.

Reno looked at him, "Okay.. please continue,"

Ignis then gazed around and continue, "They said they that Ifrit bestowed his knowledge upon them, they flourished but in the end, their King become power-hungry and betrayed the God of Fire. Ifrit wanted to destroy them because of their insolent and he did not stop on Solheim, he wanted to kill off all humans so the other Astrals went to war with him, does the war of the Astrals happened."

"Betrayed huh?" Reno whispered, Astraea then turned to him she saw the hurt in his eyes and pain in his voice. "Yes, that was the history of Solheim, but what if that history is fake?"

This earned murmured around him. Reno stopped leaning on the table and pull out a small circular blue and golden sphere in his pocket. (FFX Memory Sphere). "Let me tell you what really happened…" Reno slid the sphere in the center of the table. It's lit up and projected a projection of the map of Eos. "But first Let me start when our World Eos itself is still young, they said they are only six Astrals but the truth is there are eight each represents an element that gives life into the world." The sphere projected each element and its symbols as Reno stated them.(Final Fantasy XI elements symbols.)

"Fire, Ice, Wind, Earth, Lightning, Water, Light and Dark" Reno eyes sharpen as he said the last element.

"Wind and Dark? there no record about the Astrals bearing those elements?" Regis asked.

"Of course they will no record because they were destroyed,"

This earned a few bewildered look from the people inside the room. Reno just sighed and continued. "Let me introduce the eight Astrals," every time Reno named an Astrals the projection changed in the image of that Astrals.

"Ifrit, The Infernian, Fickle as Fire."

"Shiva, The Glacian, gentle as snow."

"Garuda, The Windcean, sleepless as the wind." (Final Fantasy Dimensions II, Wreig version 2)

"Titan, The Archean, steadfast as stone,"

"Ramuh, The Fulgurian, sharp as lightning,"

"Leviathan, The Hydraean, relentless as tides."

"Bahamut, The Draconian, unbending as iron,"

"Diabolos, The Darkian, silence as night," (Final Fantasy Brave Exvius)

"Those are the Eight Astrals long ago they looked after Eos with the helped of their crystals Eos flourished, all was worshipped by the early people of Eos. But one wanted all the attention, Diabolos dubbed by the other Astrals as the Dark messenger for every time he appeared before men, war and famine followed because Diabolos feed into the negative emotions of humans especially fear and anger. Diabolos wanted to more powerful than the other Astrals and wanted to rule over Eos. So planned to kill the Other Astrals and to corrupt their crystal, first, he attacked the Garuda. The Windcean did not want him to have her crystal so she destroyed her own crystal, this anger diabolos so he corrupted her and turned her into a daemon."

He paused as looked at the image of Garuda from changing form.(FFX Garuda boss)

"The other Astrals went to war with him and Eos has turned asunder, he was defeated his crystal destroyed and he was locked away deep inside his own realm of darkness and the Wind Goddess have disappeared never to be seen again. The six were left to governed Eos and looked after its people. With the help of the six crystal Eos flourished has again."

The projection changed into the six crystal it hovered and spun around them.

"That is..." Noctis said as he pointed as the blue and violet crystal hovering above the king.

"Yup, Bahamut's Crystals, The Crystal of Light."

Eos flourished once again under their watchful eyes and the people of Eos recover and created new settlements around Eos. But some people still have the influence of Diabolos, they want power and went to war, killing, conquering other people for their selfless desires. Because of this the other Astrals started scorned them only but one,"

The photo changed turned into an image Ifrit and Reno continue as he started to walk around the table slowly.

"The Infernian started to admire them, their will to live and the strength of their heart. So he decided to grant his blessing into one who deserved it. The God of Fire sent his flames all over Eos and seek the rightful one, the People's Champion." The photo changed again and return to the map of Eos. Every time Reno named a place in light up on the map.

"First landed on Solheim, the second was in Nibelheim(Insomnia), third was on Alfheim(Tenebrae), Fourth was on Balfonheim(Altissia), fifth was on Ancheim(Lestallum) and last was Elheim(Gralea)"

When the final light appeared it earned a few gasps from people in the room.

"Gralea the capital of The Empire of Niflheim?" Regis asked.

"Yup," Reno said as he started to walk around the table and stop again at the center. "May I continue?" Regis just nodded as the people around them watch in silence. "So the other four with their people went to Solheim where Ifrit flames first appeared, the God of Fire appeared before the people and he chose one from the five. He chose the one from Solheim, starting that day that person was known to be the very first Champion of the Astrals, the Warrior Of Light. The Infernian bestowed his flames and knowledge upon that man and his crystal and the small and quiet little town of Solheim turned into a huge civilization welcoming everyone with open arms. The champion of Ifrit became their King and rule the land with _Love,_ _Hope,_ and _Courage _and I'm honored to introduce to you the King and Queen of Solheim" Reno took a deep breath and looked at Astraea, "**_Please don't, please don't remember…_**" Reno took a final glance at Astraea, "Vincent and Lucrecia Izunia…." The sphere projected the photo of Vincent and Lucrecia. (FF7: Dirge of Cerberus the very first picture if will see if your search vincent valentine and Lucrecia crescent on google).

"The Izunia Family became well known and was loved by their people and respected by other nations. The sphere projected the photo of the Family Crest of Izunia.(The fanfic cover photo( Two Phoenix Silhouette facing each other, red on the right and blue on the left and in the middle is a red lotus flower.)

"Izunia…...?" Astraea murmured her gaze not leaving the projection.

Reno heard it and his heart stops "**_No...no….no…. did you remember already?"_** Reno thought went into overdrive as he started to sweat as he glanced down at Astraea ready for her reaction "**_No please don't….. Please don't…."_**

Astraea is about to open her mouth to say something but Drautos was the first to ask a question.

"So did they betrayed Ifrit or not?"

Reno's eyes narrowed at him as he clenched his fist. Astraea saw this and wanted to say something but Reno just chuckled, "No.." he snickered at Drautos, "In fact, people of Solheim help the other settlements and shared the power of Ifrit's Crystal. Solheim became the center of Eos. Solheim became an advance nation, They build unique structured the defy physic, building massive buildings that towered towards the sky, and created machine technology, like airships and magitek armor, invited and improve medication." The sphere projected the photo of Solheim and its location(Disc of Cauthess).

"So Solheim was located in the Disc of Cauthess?" Regis interjected.

"Yes, Your Majesty,"

"So that the reason why we can't find Solheim," Regis stated.

"Yes again, Because Solheim was been destroyed and together with its real history,"

"So if the Solheimian people did not betray Ifrit, who did and who did destroy them?" Astraea finally spoke after being silent for so long.

Reno turned to her and smiled sadly, "A person who wanted to be more powerful and greater than the Gods they worshiped." Reno stopped and took a deep breath, "In the years to follow Solheim became the pillar of the World of Eos, but that peace did not last long," The sphere projected Diabolos.

"Diabolos" Reno snarled, "He was locked away but was able to send influences with his power he created new being we called now Daemons." The sphere show daemons. "These daemons started to appear every night attacking and killing the people of Eos. But there is a place where daemon could not go Sol-"

"Solheim…" Astraea was the one who finished Reno's sentence.

"That's right, Lady Astraea," Reno smiled at her again and turned towards the council once again. "Because of Ifrit's Crystal and his flames, the people of Solheim was safe from the daemon and they want to save other too, so the King of Solheim ordered his people to build massive buildings around Eos and to put Ifirit's flames on top and this building acted like giant beacon that shined a light making the daemons cowered in fear and disappeared into the darkness. One of these towers was the Costlemark tower." The sphere projected destroyed Costlemark tower.

"This helped the people of Eos to drive away from the daemon, but Diabolos is not finished yet so he created a plague a sickness that turned people into Daemon, this plague targeted the people that have a weak hearts and the one who was evil in their heart. When the plague started the people to Solheim turned to their God Ifrit, then Ifrit turned towards the Other Astrals. Ifrit requested them to help the people of Eos and give them their blessing and crystals for his crystals can't do this alone. Ifrit's benevolence warmed Shiva's heart, who likewise came to love humans and fell in love with Ifrit, she decided to give her blessing and her crystal to the rightful one and thus the other Astrals followed. But the other Astraeal don't trust humans so much so they decided to grant them the light of their crystal but not their blessing. The other Astrals descended from the Astral realm and gave their crystal to the people of Eos,"

Reno paused and looked up as the sphere projected the map of Eos once again. Every time Reno named a place it's light up again.

"Bahamut granted his crystal to the people of Nibelheim(Insomnia), Shiva to the people of Alfheim(Tenebrae), Titan the people of Ancheim(Lestallum), Leviathan to the people of Balfonheim(Altissia) and lastly Ramuh to the people of Elheim(Gralea). With their crystal lighting up the night and daemon disappeared and Eos is safe once again. Astrals went into slumber but they did not realize that the darkness is growing strong under their absent" Reno paused again to catch his breath, "But unlike Solheim, the Other nations did not prosper like them, so one of these nations started to envied Solheim and its people, their ruler planned to attack Solheim and take Ifrit's crystal for their own,"

"Sound familiar, let me guess this nation was Elheim," Astraea said as she glared at the map showing Elheim(Gralea).

"Correct!" Reno snapped his left finger.

This earned murmured around the room. Reno did not mind this and continue his story.

"So Elheim tried to drain Ramuh's Crystal but they failed but someone helped them it was Diabolos, he granted them the power to control the daemons and help them to corrupt Ramuh's Crystals as long as they promise to free him after they killed the other Astrals. Diabolos told them that the Crystal is the source of the power of the Astrals, destroyed it and it will weaken them and they will be able to kill them. So with the help of the God of Darkness, Elheim created their own version of Solheim technology,"

"Who did they get that technology?" Astraea asked.

"Well, like a said the people of Solheim were good people they open their arms for anyone who needed help, Elheimians took this advantage and stole their technology and because people of Solheim are peaceful people and pacifist don't want conflict so they did not create any weapons. but the Elheim did the exact opposite after obtaining the written technology of Solheim, the ruler of Elheim started to build massives weapons not only to destroy Solheim but to kill the Astrals dubbed as the Omega weapon," the sphere projected the Omega weapon.

Reno paused again and closed his eyes slowly and open them again, Astraea could see that Reno is hurting, she could feel his sadness, his anger, and pain, but she did not say anything about it and continue to listen to his story.

"After five years Solheim were celebrating their founding of their nation and the coronation of their King, the other nations attended the grand celebration, but one was missing, at the middle of the happy celebration, Elheim with their own version of their weapon and aircraft unleash hell towards the people of Solheim, The celebration turned into a bloodbath, and almost half of its people were killed in the first attacked. The ruler of Solheim safeguard the older nation's leader and lead them to safety." Reno paused again clenched his fist. "The people of Solheim can't defend themselves or fight back, so the King sacrificed himself called upon the leader of Elheim to leave his people alone, and fight him head-on."

"So what happened to the king?" Regis asked.

"He fought the leader of Elhiem in the throne room, but because of the leader of Elheim did not fight fair and uses the daemon to attacked, the king of Solheim was defended, but before he dies he does not want Ifrit's crystal to be corrupted so with his last strength he shattered Ifrit's crystal and Ramuh's as while. It has woken up the Infearnian, The God of Fire appeared before the throne room and saw his champion dead and Solheim in ruins. But the army of Elheim was ready for him before he can avenge his people. Elheim used the omega weapon against him, It did not kill him but it wounded him severely and with his weakened body and heart," The sphere projected the daemonize Ifrit. "Diabolos was able to corrupt him and took control over him with daemonize Ifrit, Elheim laid waste on Solheim killing its remaining people, the other nation went to help them, but was overpowered by their technology and having a God with them, insured them victory. But other Astrals were awakened from their slumber and help the people of Eos thus the War of the Astrals happened once again."

"So what happened?" Astraea asked.

"The war lasted for one year and it turned Eos asunder once again. But with the help of the Astrals, they able to defend the people of Elheim and destroyed everything they built. As for Ifrit who still being controlled by Diabolos summoned a massive meteor to end all life in Eos," the sphere projected a massive Meteor(FF14 Dalamud). "The four Astrals used the power of their crystal to destroy the Meteor. They are able to destroy it but a huge part still plummeted towards Solheim luckily The Archean was able to catch it before it hit the ground but it destroyed what is left of Solheim thus the Disc of Cauthess was born,"

Reno stopped and glanced at Astraea looking for any reaction but Astraea is just looking at the projection with an emotionless face. He took a deep breath and continue. "The War of the Astrals ended with the defeat of the God of Fire, Ifrit, The other Astrals knew what really happened to him so they pay respect and laid his body on top of rock of Ravatogh, and they used the last of the strength of their crystal to seal the Spirit of Diabolos back into the realm of darkness it cause their crystal to shattered and it's weakened them and went to slumber once again."

Reno paused and looked at the council members and the room was filled with silence until Astrea spoke.

"So what happened to the people of Solheim, did they survived?"

Reno turned to her and smiled, "Yes, a few of them,"

"The King descendants?"

"They disappeared never to be seen again,"

"So that is the real history of Solheim?"

"Yup,"

"So why did the history books stated the other one,"

"Well Solheim has won the battle but they lost the war, after all, _war does not determine who is right...only who is left, _After all, Elheim did win, they destroyed Solheim, so the created the fake history about Solheim and make them look good and to erase what they have done"

"That makes sense," Astraea looked down.

"So that the real history of Solheim any question?" Reno looked around the room.

"I have a question," Ignis said in the back of the room.

"Ok then what your question?"

"You said the crystals were shattered so why is the crystal of Bahamut is still intact?"

This earned another murmured from the council members.

"Great question," Reno said as he crossed in his arm, "So the real history of Solheim is now finished let us go to the founding of the Kingdom of Lucis," Reno stopped and looked at the King, Regis nodded at him. "Let start at the end of the war, yes the crystals of the Astrals were destroyed but one was able to survive and that is Bahamut's Crystal, the Crystal of Light." The sphere projected Bahamut's Crystal.

"After the war, people of Solheim were scattered all over Eos but some went to Nibelheim(Insomnia) to start a new life but before Eos could recover, The darkness came back, the people gave its name the Starscourge. Even with Bahamut's Crystals the daemon still became rampant and killed many people. So Bahamut the only Astral who is still awake decided to give his blessing, unlike Ifrit, Bahamut choice two people from two different families….."

"The Caelum and the Fleuret Right?" Astraea said.

"Correct again! the Oracle and the founder King" Reno said as he looked down at Astraea.

"With the help of Bahamut blessing the Champion of Bahamut was able to drive back the daemon with the help of the Oracle, but is still not enough they are overpowered, in the end, the daemon was able to rule Eos, and plunged the world into darkness, with the other Astrals asleep and Bahamut still recovering, hope has been lost but a miracle happened,"

"What kind of Miracle?" Regis asked as he leaned his elbow on the table and put his chin in his hand.

"Like a said the Astrals have their Champion the Warriors of Light remembered?"

All the people in the room nodded at Reno.

"Without knowing Ifrit did send his last flames into the world to seek a new champion,"

"Who was it?" Regis asked again.

"The descendant of the King of Solheim, the new Warrior Of Light, The bearer of Ifrit's flames. With the help of the new warrior of Light, The Izunia, Caelum, and Fleuret were able to defeat the daemons and drive away the Starscourge and light shined once again in Eos." Reno pause again and looked at Astraea who's in deep thought.

"**_Are those dreams I'm having?"_** Astraea thought "**_but why?"_**

"So what happened after?" Astraea snapped out of her thoughts and turned to Noctis who asked the question.

"The Kingdom of Lucis has risen from the ashes of Solheim and the Insomnia was born."

"So what happened to the champion of Ifrit?" Noctis asked again.

"Well, the champion disappeared never to be seen again and erased themselves in history,"

"Why?" Astraea was the one who asked.

"Maybe the descendant of the King blamed themselves for what happened, so they asked the Caelum to look after their people and continue to rule over Eos with Love, Hope, And Courage and that what the Founder King did. Eos flourished once again and you know what happened after that…" Reno finally relaxed "That is the real history of Eos, so any questions?"

The whole plunged into deep silences as they all are absorbing all the information they have heard but that Silence was broken when The of the Kingsglaive stood up and looked at Reno.

"Yes, I have one," Drautos asked with a raised eyebrow, "Who do you know about this?"

"Well, that's…." Reno trail off and looked at Astraea, Reno just took a deep breath and exhale loudly he looked at the King without waiting for Regis response, Reno burst into flames his brown hair turn crimson his eyes turned to blue his hair became longer and the marks on his cheeks returned, he graceful bowed to them, "I known this Because I none other than… Ifrit's Messenger,"

The whole room gasped at the revelation Reno stood up and smirked at Drautos, "Any question?"

Drautos slowly took his seat again stayed silent with the whole room until Astraea shouted.

"I was right!" Astraea stood up and pointed at Reno, "I remembered you having red hair!"

Reno smiled, "Sorry about that I was hiding, after all, I need to protect you from the shadow,"

"Protect me why?"

"Well you know that answered to that Fire Maiden,"

Astraea slowly sat down "No.. no….no... that can be.." she murmured "I can't be the descent-."

"Descendant of the champion of Ifrit, the bearer of his Flames, that's who you are and where your ability is from Astraea, You are the Champion of Ifrit, the Warrior of Fire, The Fire Maiden," Reno walked over to her and took knee using one leg and bowed down. "I will be your shield and protector, I'm your guardian, Fire Maiden, I will protect you even if my life will be the cause." Reno held his hand towards her.

The room stayed silent waiting for Astraea reaction. Astraea eyes and hair started to flickered it stop went she clenched her trembling hand. Astraea suddenly stood up and walked towards the door. Reno stood up and looked at her as he passed him.

"Astraea where are you going?" Noctis stood up and ready to follow her went Astraea held a hand and stop him in his tracks.

"A need a minute….." Astraea said and continued to walk away, she opened the door and closed it behind her.

The people of the room looked at each other waiting for anyone to talk. Reno just leaned his left hand in the table at started drumming his fingers. "**1….2….3…." **Reno counted in his head.

Noctis looked over his friends and ready to walk towards the door when…

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Astraea screamed at the top of her lungs, her scream echoes in the entire hallway and the whole Citadel making the other staff jump into their feet and the birds outside the citadel flew off.

Reno chuckled silently, **_"She still doing that."_**

A few seconds later Astraea returned and sat down quietly on her seat again. She strengthened her dress and took a deep breath and looked at Reno who's still standing.

"ARE YOUR KIDDING RENO! THIS IS NOT A VERY NICE JOKE!" she bellowed as her hair turned red.

"I'm not joking Astraea," Reno said as he leaned his hands on the table and looked at her. "Everything I said is 100% true," he stopped leaning and walked towards her and held her right hand with both hands. "You are Ifrit's Champion, Fire Maiden,"

Astraea yanked her hand away from his grip "How can you be so sure about that!"

Reno saw Astraea eyes started to flicker, Reno smiled gently at her as he bent down to meet her eyes and held both of her hands. "Without a doubt, you are his descendants, you are an Izunia, I can see it in your eyes and I can sense Ifrit's flames inside of you,"

"But.. but I a nobody.. a monster.." Astraea eyes started to water.

Reno brush it away, "Your not a nobody and you're definitely not a monster, forget everything you experienced in Galahd, You are Ifrit Champion's and you are important and special so stop crying and stand tall," Reno said as he stood up and held his. Astraea wiped her tears away and took Reno's Hand, Reno yanked her up and made her stood at the center of the room.

"Everyone I want you to meet the New Warrior of Light, Ifrit's Champion, The Fire Maiden!"

Everyone was silent nobody is talking, Astraea is about to run away when Regis stood up and walked towards her and stop in front of her. "Your Majesty?" Astraea turned towards the King.

"Welcome to our Kingdom, Fire Maiden, or better yet Princess of Solheim…" Regis greeted her with a bow.

The whole council stood up and bowed down, Astraea eyes widened as he surveyed the room all the people are bowing to her, her mother, the three Kingsglaive and even her new friends.

"PRINCESS!" She screamed as eyes and hair turned fully red.

"Yup, did you forgot, your the descendant of the King of Solheim so technically your a Princess…" Reno snickered.

"No...no….no…" Astraea held her hand up, "I did not want part of the nobility is the first place now you saying I'm a Royalty, how can I be a princess? I don't have a kingdom, Solheim was destroyed and… and..." she stammered as he looked around the room, "I just don't want to be a Princess no thank you!, I better of being the Fire Maiden and a hunter period," Astraea stomped her feet and pouted.

"Maybe you're right, no princess will act like that," Reno laughed as he ruffled her hair. Astraea eyes narrowed and did a backflip and kicked Reno is the jaw. Reno felt back on the marble floor.

The room went quiet "Don't do that I hate when people touch my hair with permission!" Astraea put her hand on her hip.

Reno just sat up in the ground and smiled at her, "As you wish, Your Highness," he mocked.

"I said stop that!" Astraea ordered him.

Reno marks on the cheeks glowed up, she noticed it and asked, "What is happening to your marks?" she bent down and touch Reno's face. Reno just smiled at her, "It's okay that means I have to follow your command or order, I'm forced to follow your orders for I am your Guardian,"

"Even if it's against your will?"

"Yup, you can order me around and I have no choice but to follow you."

"That no fair, Astraea said as she rose and held her hand, "Okay then I promise not to order you around Reno, as long that you promise to be honest with me,"

Reno took it and rose up and smiled at her, "If you say so, so it's time to reveal my other forms,"

"Your other forms?" Astraea asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yup stay back,"

Both the King and Astraea took a step back as Reno's's body started to engulfed in flames. The Flames started to form a familiar shape, Astraea eyes widen as the final form stood in front of her. Reno is now on is Chocobo form "Remember me?" Reno said.

"Reno?.." Astraea said as she walked and brushed his neck feather, "Wow its really you, I thought you died in the invasion," she hugged him, "But wait that means you been watching me the whole time?" Reno nodded at her. "So are you…." she paused and looked up "You know ... the fire phoenix... that burned down the island,"

"Yup, sorry about that I lose control over my emotions back then, I'm sorry that I did not protect properly in all those years, I'm still weak back then," Reno said as he put his neck around her shoulders and hugged her.

"Its okay Reno, but I did miss you chick form, do you have any form?"

He blinked and smiled, "Yup I have one more," Reno burst into flames once again and turn into his bird form,"

Astraea held her right arm up and Reno gently perched in her arm. "So that reason why they found us in the desert you were following us! are you able to turned into a full phoenix?"

Reno flapped his wings, "Correct again, but for now, I could not fully turn into a phoenix, after all, Ifrit's Crystal was destroyed and we both don't have any source of our power and about that please don't use your power willy nilly. Unlike the Caelum you don't have a crystal to draw power from, that is the reason why you always collapse and fell asleep after you used a certain ability."

"Well that explains it so who can I overcome it and how will control Ifrit's flames,"

"Don't worry, I teach and train you, Fire Maiden," Reno bowed down.

"Ahem…."

Both Astraea and Reno turned behind to see Noctis standing with the King.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot," Reno said as he returned to being a human, "We still have to talk about your fate Fire Maiden and Prince Noctis?"

"Our fate?" Astraea walked over Noctis and stood beside them.

"Yup new prophecy "**_When darkness veils the world, The Flame, and the Light will be called once more. The bond that was forgotten will be one and the call of the Astrals shall be heard _**that is your fate Astraea," Reno gazed at her and turned to Noctis "And you Prince Noctis, destined True King, The King of Light, both of you will save Eos and destroyed the darkness once and for all,"

"What are you saying Reno?" Regis asked with a concerned voice.

Both Astraea and Noctis world stopped as they heard Reno revelation as they stood still in silence with the whole room everyone is waiting for Reno answered with bated breath.

* * *

**_A/N:_** Hello again :) I hope you enjoy this chapter and if you're wondering the name Nibelheim(FF7), Balfonheim(FF12), Elheim(FF1), Alfheim(Final Fantasy Dimension), Ancheim(Bravely Default) are from different Final Fantasy and Square Enix games there are all names of towns. I got the idea about the Crystals when I read the synopsis of the Final Fantasy Versus XIII and Fabula Nova Crystallis and the whole Warriors of Light and Crystals are to pay homage to the early Final Fantasy1-4 games but instead of just four elements, I went to use the eight elements. The champion of Astrals/Warriors is from Dissidia.

I have this story is published too in Wattpad if you want to see the pictures and song covers you can see it there. I have the same account name and the same fanfic title.

To my readers who kept on reading my fanfic and those who made put this on their favorite and alert list, I want to say THANK YOU for supporting my fanfic, especially to Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967 thank you for your reviews. I promise to keep on writing and improving my work.

Hope you enjoy this and have a wonderful day!

Next chapter _Adagium And The Warriors Of Light_


	14. Chapter 12

**Adaguim and The Warriors of Light**  
_"No matter how many people, you may lose, you have no choice but to go in living, No matter how devastating, the blows maybe." -Tanjiro Kamado(Demon Slayer)_

* * *

The room continued to fill with silence as the messenger gazed towards the king.

_**"Are you sure you're going to reveal it now Reno?"**_ Regis asked him telepathically.

_**"We have no choice now, we just need to be ready."**_ he stopped and his eyes glanced towards Noctis and Astraea, _**"They have to be ready, I know after this both of them will never have a normal life, they will bear the responsibility of being the Warriors of Light,"**_ he returned his gaze towards Regis. _**"Just followed my lead, Your Majesty."**_

Regis's kingly demeanor changed into a more parently, Reno could see Regis's eyes soften towards his son. He knows that his final revelation will change the lives of Astraea and Noctis in a big way and the lives of their loved one too, but he does not have a choice, he needs them to be ready, and as a messenger of the Astrals, he needs to accomplish his mission, to tell the truth, and protect the future of Eos, which is the King of Light and The Fire Maiden. Reno's face turned into a frown as he remembered all that fire maiden has been thought, her suffering and trouble she went through all the lives that have been lost just to start all over again. He does not want it if he will be the one making the decisions he will wish her to have a normal life, away from darkness, grief, and suffering. He does not want her to remember her past to keep her safe but fate has already in action and there is no stopping it the only thing he can do is to be with her in every step in the way.

"Reno.."

The mention of his name, made red-haired flinched a bit as Astraea touched his shoulder, he turned to her and saw her looking at him questionably. "Are you okay?"

He just smiled at her, "Yes, please take your seat, Princess.." he guided her into her seat, she wanted to protest but seeing Reno happy demeanor changed into a more serious and sad one, she let it slipped and took a seat again Noctis did the same. After making sure she is comfortable Reno helped King Regis to his seat. He then returned to the center of the table and glanced around the room.

"I will say it again, nothing will leave this room, all of you are sworn to secrecy," Reno's blue eyes became fierce as he gazed at everybody his voice low and threatening.

The members of the council shifted into their seats, as they saw his eyes. Prompto gulped and stepped closer towards the future shield, Gladio and Ignis straightened themselves. Cor and Aerith's eyes glanced into each other, they never saw Reno acting his way, they only saw his cheerful and fun side but now the man standing in front of them is different his presence is more on being the messenger of the Astrals not being Astraea's guardian. Mecia, Claudia, and Quistis just lowered their heads down to avoid his intense glare. The glaives were surprised too as they could feel his threatening presence. They just stood straight and looked at him. Astraea wanted to say something but the King was the first to speak.

"You have our word, messenger, nothing will leave this room," Regis spoke in the more regal matter.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," he bowed towards him, "I want to make sure after all don't want to kill anyone here," he nonchalantly dictated, "I will do anything to protect the future of Eos, and its champions," he finished as he stood straight.

The room plunged into an eerie silence, as all the people were surprised by the messenger's words. They all looked at him wide-eyed, Reno's face was straightforward and emotionless, they understood he meant what he said and nobody wanted to react even King Regis is speechless.

"Reno.." Astraea soft voice broke the silence in the room.

The messenger turned to her, he could see the fear in her eyes, this softens his reaction, he lowers his guard down and smiled at her.

"Sorry, might be going a little too far," his voice is now softer and inviting.

Astraea just nodded at him, he bowed at her and bowed towards the council, "I apologize for rude behavior, I just want to make sure, the future is safe,"

Regis sighed, "You don't have to apologize, messenger, you're just doing your job."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," he replied and then turned to both Astraea and Noctis, "Well then lets us continue, but promise me, princess, that you won't lose control," she nodded straightened herself up in the chair and ready herself, Noctis did the same. After making sure everyone is ready to listen Reno took something out of his suit and handed it to his master.

"Cosmogony?" she asked as she put the book down on and table and started to skim it.

Noctis leaned it to look, "Yes, I remembered now, I and Luna talked about that book when we were little,"

"Luna?" she turned to him.

"Yes, Luna," Noctis saw the confession in her face he remembered that he did not mention Luna to her so he corrected himself, "I mean Lady Lunafreya Nox Fleuret,"

"The Oracle?"

"Yes, she always told me that Am the chosen King, The King of Light that will purge the darkness away," Noctis said as he took the book away from her, flipped it on the last page, where the verse of 15: 2 Nadir is located. "I never thought she is serious after all were just kids back then,"

She took the book back and read the verse out loud, "O'er rotted Soil, under blighted sky, A dread Plague the Wicked hath wrought. In the Light of the Gods, Sword-Sworn at his Side 'Gainst the Dark the King's Battle is fought. From the Heavens high, to the Blessed below, Shines the Beam of a Peace long besought. "Long live thy Line, and this Stone divine, For the Night when All comes to Naught."

"You knew that is real right?"

"What!?" Both Astraea and Noctis eyes-widened as they turned to Reno who back being his old self again.

"Yup, the prophecy of the King of light When darkness veils the world, the King of Light shall come." he turned to Prince, "And you Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum is that said king, you will vanish the darkness and bright back the light in Eos.

"What!" Noctis stood up leaning his uninjured arm on the table, it started to shake.

"Don't worry Your Highness you're not alone," he slowly turned to Astraea who's looking at her friend with worried eyes, the fire maiden saw this and looked straight at him, he smiled sadly at her before she could speak he continued, "When darkness veils the world, the flame, and the light will be called once more. The bond that was forgotten will be one and the call of the Astrals shall be heard." the fire maiden gulped as she already knew what Reno is going to say next, "Astraea you're going to help him fulfilled that prophecy, no…" he crossed his arms "You two are the future of Eos, you two will save Eos and defeat the darkness once and for all,"

"What!" the fire maiden stood up her eyes and hair started to go wild.

"I told you not to lose control," he laughed.

"What do you mean?"

He chuckled and looked down at her hand, she glanced down to find the Comogony book is on fire.

"Eeekkkk!" she jumped and tried to put the fire by waving the book in the air. Reno took the book away and with a flick of his hand, the book burst into larger flames and disappeared into thin air.

"Are you okay?" he turned to her as he put two hands in both her shoulder, she looked up to him, her hair and eyes flickering, "Take a deep breath and exhale slowing, control your emotions and be calm.." her guardian said as gently as possible she did what he said and she slowly started to calm down her hair and eyes returned to its normal color. "See, that not too hard right," he winked at her, "Please sit down," he guided her towards her seat and gestured to the Prince to do the same, after making sure Astraea and Noctis are calm, Reno then turned towards the other people in the room.

"Astraea the champion of Ifrit and Prince Noctis the champion of Bahamut, they are the new Warriors of Light," he announced as he gestured towards the two teens. "They are our future, with the blessing of Astrals they will purge the darkness and save us,"

This earns murmured from the council members, "Quiet!" Regis whispered, but the murmurs became louder, this anger the king so Regis slammed his cane in the ground and "I said QUIET!" Regis's voice roared inside the room. The council members jerked into their seats and looked at the King.

"Messenger!" Regis turned to him, "Explain it! what the Prince's role in this prophecy,"

"Ah.. yes...well.." he stammered his word, _**"Wow your majesty, your acting is quite good"**_ he telepathically said to Regis. _**"I'm just you're following your lead, Reno"**_ Regis hastily replied._** "Ok then Your Majesty, just continue your acting,"** _the messenger cleared his throat and continued the sphere light up again and started to project the image of the eight Astrals "As you command Your Majesty," he said as he straightened the sleeves of his suit.

"As I said a minute ago, The first Astral war was between the battle between the Dark Messenger and the Six right?" Regis nodded, "Okay then, what I did not tell you that, the Astrals has equal straight, they can't kill each other but they can weaken each other, thus Diabolos," The sphere projected the image of Diabolos, "Was imprisoned instead being killed, Ifrit the second in command of the Six-"

"Second in command?" Astraea asked.

He said while looking at her, "Yup, Bahamut the draconian was the leader of the Astrals, Ifrit is the second," she nodded so he continued his story.

"Back then Ifrit was tasked to keep Diabolos locked up Pitioss Ruins, he knew that Diabolos will come back with a vergence so he decided to grant his blessing into rightful one, The King of Solheim,"

"So you're saying the champions of the Astrals are tasked to defeat Diabolos," Astraea said as she gazed towards the image of Diabolos,

"Not only to defeat but to kill," he answered, "That the reason why Ifrit granted his blessing only a human can kill an Astral. So he decided to bestow his knowledge to the people of Solheim, Ifrit told the other Astrals to do the same, but because of the history of people of Eos, for being weak and easily corrupted they did not agree with him."

"But they did it eventually right?"

He turned to her, 'Yes, they did but they never give their blessing, and it was too late, Diabolos have already gathered enough power to do his plan,"

"What plan?"

"To take revenge on the other Astrals and take control over Eos,"

"So Diabolos was able to break out of his prison?" Regis asked.

"No, Diabolos was the ability to detached his soul to his body so he used his cunning and manipulative words to corrupt the heart of the people of Elheim to attack Solheim.

"So the Elheimians are just victims too?" Astraea questioned all the people in the room, turned to her.

"The people yes but their leaders are not," Reno leaned his hands on the table,

"So the people don't have a choice but to follow their ruler," Astraea added.

"Yup and we know what happened next," Reno stopped as the sphere showed the War of the Astral. "Vincent Izunia was defeated his kingdom destroyed, "Reno's eyes glared at the image daemonize Ifrit, "Not only that Diabolos took control over Ifrit's body and started to second Astral war,"

"What happened The Infernian soul then?"

Reno turned to Astraea, "He tried to corrupt it but failed, Ifrit soul went inside a piece his crystal," Reno said as he looked at Astraea necklace when she noticed it Reno turned his gaze back King Regis. "But luckily the other Astrals able to defeat him took back Ifrit's body and laid him on top of the rock of Ravatogh. They were able to put back his soul, they put him to sleep to make him recover. The other Astrals went into slumber except for The Draconian. He knew that Diabolos will come back, he was right Diabolos returned a form of the Starscourge,"

"So that the reason why Bahamut granted his blessing?" Regis asked.

"Yes, Your Majesty, with the help of the Oracle they are able to keep the darkness at bay but it's not enough, it took one year before the Ifrit's champion to reveal herself the Fire maiden-"

"Wait Vincent Izunia descendant is a female?" Astraea stood up.

_**"Darn!"**_ he bit his lip, he's trying his best not to mention that.

"I'm asking a question Reno, tell me her name!" the fire maiden voice is now stern as she glared at the messenger.

"Well her name is not important," he shrugged his shoulder, "Okay let continue.." he chuckled as he tried to avoid the question.

"You're avoiding my question Messenger!" she hissed, he turned to her, "Tell me who is she, that an ORDER!" she barked.

Reno's marks glowed, his curse under his breath, he turned towards the King asking for help, Regis is about to say something but Astraea shouted again.

"SHOW ME NOW! THAT AN ORDER RENO!"

He flinched "But.. she…" he is trying his best not to reveal the truth.

_**"Its okay Reno, tell her,"**_ he could hear a familiar voice,

_**"Somnus?"**_

_**"Yes, show it to them, just make sure not to reveal the truth, I will make a fake memory so go ahead..."**_

_**"Okay then,"**_ Reno replied.

"RENO!" He snapped his attention back towards her who's now glaring at him, her eyes crimson and hair blood red. He took a deep breath of air and exhaled slowly, "Okay then but promise me don't freak out.."

Astraea was able to relax a bit, Reno then turned towards the sphere it started to light up and projected an image of a female as the image became clear and visible the whole room gasped with her, the projection showed a female with the same face as her, the eyes and hair are the same but the female is much older maybe her early 20's. He cleared his throat and gestured towards the image "I want you to meet, King and Queen of Solheim only daughter Astraea Izunia.." All of them gasped, they were all left stunned with their jaws drop they continued to stare at the projection. Astraea Izunia look exactly like her but the only difference is their eyes, the person in the image has crimson eyes while she has brown eyes. But if anyone took one glance they will not know the difference.

"What...she lookkk likeee meee.." she stuttered all the people turned to her. She sank down on her chair her hair and eyes returned to normal.

"No, you looked like her." Reno said as he put a hand on her shoulder, she looked at him, "But why?"

"Why? because you're an Izunia, after all, you're related to her and you're her descendant so you took after her, not only her appearance but her name and her titled as The Fire Maiden," he gently smiled and tucked a loss hair behind her left ear. "So don't question it and be proud," she reluctantly nodded and smiled at him, he chuckled and patted her on the top of the head.

"So Astraea Izunia was the second champion of Ifrit and the one who helped our ancestors the founder king to defeat the Starscourge," Regis shifted in his seat as he looked at the image.

"You're correct, Your Majesty,"

"Excuse me, Mr. Sinclair," Noctis raised his hand.

"Reno glanced at the prince, "Yes, Your Highness?"

"Are you sure that not Astraea? They looked exactly alike."

This earned a few murmurs around the room Reno turned towards Astraea, who was looking at the projection."I'm positive after all she is not the only one who inherited her ancestor appearance." he just smiled at him before looking at the sphere again.

"Everyone I introduce to you the founder king, well known for his title the Mystic. Somnus Lucis Caelum," The sphere showed the image of the founder king.

They all exclaimed once again even Regis was looking at the image with wide-eyed. This is the very first time he saw the founder king, without a doubt his son took the appearance of Somnus. The raven-hair and crystal blue eyes and facial features are the same. If Noctis will reach a certain age he will resemble the founder king in a certain way.

"Wow!" This stopped Regis's thoughts, he turned towards the source of the voice to find Prompto, the prince's best friend, running towards his son and the blonde stopped at his prince's side and pointed at the image.

"Wow Noct!" he billowed yet again, "You looked exactly like him,"

"Prompto!" Gladio yelled as he walked toward him, he yanked him up. "Be still, your in the presence of the king and the council,"

"Apology for our friend's manner," Ignis bowed down towards the table.

"No, it's okay you don't have to apologize," Noctis stood up and gestured to Gladio and put down his friend. Gladio frowned and put the blonde gently down.

After being able to stand up straight Prompto bowed down towards the council and the king, "Sorry for my rude behavior, I will take a leave," Prompto swiftly stood up and walked past Noctis, Ignis and Gladio followed him.

"Woah...Woah, where all you think you are going!" Reno stopped them in their tracks, "My story is not finished yet, so you are not allowed to go outside, right, Your Majesty?" he turned towards him.

Regis just shook his head and smiled at the three teens, "The messenger is right, please stay, your reaction was a normal young one,"

"The king is right just don't go overboard next time blonde," the messenger teased.

"Thank you, Your majesty I promise I behaved," he swiftly bowed to Regis and at Reno.

"Okay then, that out of the way," Reno walked back at the center of the table and turned to his master, "You okay, can we continue?"

"Yes please, I want to know what happened," Regis answered.

"Okay then, Astraea Izunia, Somnus Lucis Caelum and the Oracle Ashelia Fleuret, five years they battled against daemons and drive away the darkness with their blessing was able to cast away the Starscourge and The Kingdom Of Lucis was form and that the real and hidden the history of Eos"

_**"Wait, but my dream?"**_ Astraea thought as she lowered her head down, she tries to remember her dreams, _**"What happened to Ardyn and Aera?'**_' She continued to ponder _**"So Somnus and Astraea are not siblings, but in my dream they are-"**_ she was deep in thought that she did not hear Noctis calling her.

"Astra.." Noctis shook her shoulder. She jumped from her seat and stood up, "Sorry, did I surprise you?"

She shook her head, "No, I'm just having a problem accepting all of this.." she said while looking around the room and notice all people in the room are gazing at her, she avoided their eyes.

"Reno?"

"Yes?"

"I have a question?" she looked directly at him.

_**"Please don't...Please don't ask for Ardyn.."**_ his mind went into a panic for he does not know what to answer if the fire maiden asked that question. It's too early for her to remember her true past and what happened to her brother. She saw how uneasy Reno is so she decided not to ask the question about her dreams and decided to keep it.

"What about our fate? the prophecy?"

"Ah yes." he took a sigh of relief, "Astraea and Somnus was able to cast the darkness away but is not forever, there is a prophecy that the Darkness will be back and Diabolos will be returned, that what the prophecy stated and it stated that the Champion of the Astrals will rise, being the descendant of the Somnus the founder king, the responsibility falls onto you Your Highness and you too Astraea," he said while looking at the two, "Being the descendant of Astraea Izunia, you have a responsibility to continue their fight and finish it once and for all.

"So we are going to fight Diabolos in the future as the Warriors of Light?" Noctis asked.

"Yes, but don't worry, you too will have helped,"

"Help?" Astraea tilted her head.

"Yup, when darkness veils the world, The Flame, and the Light will be called once more. The bond that was forgotten will be one and the call of the Astrals shall be heard. The other Astrals will choose their champions and bestow their blessing to them, with the six Warriors of Light you will be able to defeat Diabolos once and for all."

"Okay, I get that prophecy so what about the bond that was forgotten will be one?"

"Yeah, about that Astraea and Somnus made a promise to each other but because of some unfortunate event, that did not happen."

"What happened?"

Reno's voice became low and distant, "I don't want to talk about it," her guardian looked away from her.

"Please Reno, I want to kno-" Before she could not finish her sentence she felt on her knees and clutch her heart, her heart started to ache as her head started to sting, she could not control her body, anyone, as it started to tremble her tears started to fall uncontrollably.

"Astraea!" Aerith ran towards her and cradled her, "What happened are you alright?"

"My heart hurts.." she whimpered as she continued to cry for no apparent reason.

"Astra!" Noctis knelt down beside her, "What is happening to her Reno?" Noctis turned towards the red-haired his voice full of concern and his face showed it.

"I don't know... maybe it's her ability?"

"Ability?"

"Yes, Ifrit flames in not like other flames it holds the memory of the past, and it will make anyone who bears it empathetic towards the people around them, that what she is feeling now,"

"So who's making her felt like that,"

Before Reno could speak, Astraea murmured his name, "Reno…"

He turned towards her, "**_No, please don't tell me you_ remember already?"** he knelt down in front of her and held her trembling hands.

"It's yours..." she whispered.

"What?"

"I could feel your emotion."

"Mine?"

She just nodded her trembling started to subside as she looked at the sphere before Rebo could speak the sphere burst into flame. It caused the council members to stand up and back away. Before anyone could speak a video was being shown. They stopped and watched the video.

**...**

It's a third-person point of view, the person is looking toward a crowd of people standing around a huge crater. The people are all wearing a white robe and carrying an unlit sky lantern.

"What are we seeing?" Regis asked as he walked towards him, Clarus and Regis not far behind looking at Astraea worriedly and they stopped a foot from him and looked at the video.

"It's my memory.." Reno said as he took a step closer, "It's my memory of the time of Solheim memorial three years after the war,"

All the people in the room took a quick glance at Astraea and turned towards the video and continued to watch.

The crowd of people pave the way and standing at the very center is a female wearing a white and pink dress, her back turned away from him, she slowly turned around, is Astraea Izunia, her face is very solemn but sad at the same time.

"Where at the Disc of Cauthess doing a memorial for the people of Solheim," Reno stated as they continue to watch.

Astraea Izunia took a deep breath and started to sing. (Youtube: Mewsic "Kamado Tanjiro no Uta" FULL ║ Kimetsu no Yaiba EP 19 ║ ENGLISH Cover) her voice full of emotion, as she sang the song, the feeling of losing your loved one and losing her home, her heartache, grief, sadness is very visible in her voice.

_"Now there's no return, since I've lost my home_

_And the darkness spreads as the shadows grow"_

The people in the room started to feel her feelings too as the room temperature went up.

Astraea started to cry as her hair turned red slowly from the root to end, her eyes glowed crimson, slowly the unlit lantern light up one at a time, the people started releases it into the sky it filled the night sky making the lanterns looked like stars shining brightly, it illuminated her tears as it continued to fall.

_"I hear your gentle voice, so soft_

_It wells up tears inside…_

_But no matter the pain or the hurt,_

_Look ahead (look ahead), look ahead (look ahead), and you'll see_

_The way to cleave despair"_

Regis leaned his hand towards the table to support himself as the emotion is unbearable like he experiences all the pain and loss of Astraea Izunia, he looked around the room to see the effect on the people around him. Noctis tears started to fall, his friends tried to keep their sobs in. The council members and have difficulty keeping a straight face. Kingsglaive just looked straight but their eyes showed sorrow and grief. Regis then turned toward Astraea.

_**"Is this the pain she went through?"**_

_**"Yes your Majesty,"**_ Reno replied telepathically as helped the king to regain his footing, "_**This is her pain, her suffering, now you know my reason why can't tell her the truth,"**_ he said as he glanced at Astraea who is still in her mother's arms. Regis returned his attention to the video.

When Astraea finished her song all the sky lanterns were in the air, it lit up the surrounding area. She slowly looked up at her gaze. She followed the lanterns a few went towards the glowing blue meteor in the middle of the huge crater.

**…**

The video stopped and the sphere slowly turned off, the fire maiden saw this and stood up.

"NO!,"

The people in the room turned to her, her hair and eyes are now back to normal, she is not trembling anymore, "I want to know what happened next, could you continue Reno?"

Reno knelt down, "Are you okay Astraea," he caressed her cheek brushing the tear away.

"Please Reno, I want to know what happened," she looked at him with pleading eyes,

Reno just gazed at her worriedly he let out a sigh and returned his gaze towards the sphere and with a snap of his fingers it turned on and the video went back on still with Reno's point of view.

…

He is still looking at Astraea who's making a speech.

"People of Solheim!," her soft voice echoes inside the crater, "I know it seems dark, we have lost our home, our loved ones," she paused and glanced over the crowd, "But we should not lose hope, we must move forward, the light of the Astrals will guild us. Even if Solheim is gone, our tradition will live on. Solheim will never be gone for we are Solheim, we will rise again and rebuild our city, our lives and we will live on!" She declared her eyes and hair glowed bright red as some sky lanterns burst into flame and created a silhouette of a phoenix, the Izunia crest and glowed brightly in the velvet sky. The people cheered and clapped their hands. Astraea breathed slowly and held her hand out in front of her as she remained standing as the people around her celebrated. Even with her queenly demeanor, he could still see the fear in her eyes, he glanced down to see her hand trembling so he walked towards her.

"Princess? are you alright?"

She turned to him, "How many times, I told you don't call me that, Reno,"

"Ahhh yes. I mean Queen Astraea " he bowed gracefully at her.

She yanked his ponytail to make him stand straight, "That your last warning messenger and I cut that ponytail of yours if you won't stop!" she teased but there is still a pain in her words.

"No I won't let you," he said while holding his ponytail protectively, "Promise I won't call you, that anymore" he paused and continued "Your Majesty," he laughed.

She glared at him but it disappeared and replaced by laughter he smiled lovingly at her then turned towards the lanterns, "They're beautiful."

"Yes, I hope it will bring them peace,"

"You already brought them that, they are proud you Astraea,"

She chuckled sadly and held his right hand. The messenger turned to her, "Thank you Reno for everything I won't be able to do this without you,"

"You don't thank me, It's my duty after all and were family," he paused and looked around "So this means you're gonna take the throne and become our queen?"

"I don't know if I can, I might disappoint our people," the reluctant queen lowered her head down.

"No you won't," a man's voice called from behind them, they both turned to see Somnus, the Founder king, with a tall man walking beside him.

The video showed static just a few seconds and stopped.

**…**

"Who's that with the founder king?" Noctis asked.

Reno smirked, "Gilgamesh, the king' s shield,"

Clarus Amicitia looked at Gilgamesh. The king's shield wore full body armor and has long silver hair tied into braids and red eyes. Clarus shifted in his seat, by looking at the first shield he knows his nothing compared to him.

Reno saw this and laughed, "Don't be anxious Mr. Clarus Amicitia,"

Clarus was surprised by the messenger's words and he turned to him. Ever since they were introduced he never called him by proper name, this is the first time. Reno just smiled, "Don't compare yourself with Gilgamesh, every shield is different," he gave him a reassuring look. "By the looks of it you're doing a great job as King Regis shield," he praised him. "Just don't be serious all the time, sometimes you need to smile,"

Clarus just glared at him, he smiled nervously and held a piece signed towards the shield. Clarus let's sighed in defeat and asked. "So does Queen have a shield?"

"Astraea?" Reno turned towards the video, "No she does not"

"Why?" Noctis asked.

"Well Astraea Izunia," he said while scratching his back of his head, "She very selfless, she does want anyone to be trouble so she decided not to have one,"

"Really?" Astraea is the one who asked this time.

"Yes for she does not want anyone dying for her or her people, after all, many have sacrificed their lives during the Astrals war, she does not want that to happen again."

"Oh.." she lowered her head, "That mean sense If you can do it yourself why asked for help,"

Reno patted her on the head, "You really liked her you known, don't worry princess I will be your shield," he smiled at her.

She huffed and removed his hand away, "Told you never to call me that,"

"Sorry, force of habit, he laughed and stood straight, "Shall we continue?"

She nodded so Reno turned towards the shield and the king both gave him a nod of approval he snapped his fingers and the video resumed.

**…**

"Your Majesty," Astraea greeted while bowing.

"Please don't do that, we are friends here," Somnus stopped and stood in front of them.

Reno took a step back to give both royalty room to talk he stood beside Somnus's shield.

"Gilgamesh," he greeted with a nod.

Gilgamesh just nodded back and turned towards his king, he did the same thing and watched the king and Princess continue their conversation.

"I was worried when the guards told me that about your people went outside the city, after all, daemons are still out here," Somnus said as he looked around the Solheimian people bowed their heads towards him, Somnus held his hand greeted them with a smile.

"They are safe, my flames are protecting them and I just want to conduct a proper burial for our death, this is the closing thing we can do, sorry for worrying you, Your Majesty," she hung her head down again.

"I told you don't do that, after all, be both royalties and warriors of Light, and besides," Somnus chuckled, "You're technically the Queen of Solheim

now."

"Queen...that title is not for me. maybe you can be their king," she laughed jokingly.

Somnus gazed at her sadly, she just turned away from him."Solheim is no more, I no queen or royalty.." she said as she started to walk towards the crater, Somnus followed her, Reno and Gilgamesh not far behind. They stopped at the end of the crater(where Somnus royal tomb is located.)

"Well, that's not what I heard. You said it yourself you are Solheim, that Solheim is just a place so technically you can still be Queen, maybe you can rebuild Solheim somewhere else."

"Really you think I could do that?" she turned to him with a raised eyebrow then she looked around to see her people when she met eyes with them, they smiled and bowed their heads, she smiled back at them.

"Yes, your still an Izunia, their leader, so please grant their wish and become their Queen, they need you right now,"

"I don't know, I'm not my father," she said her hair started to flicker.

"Hmmpp.." Somnus tried to hold his laughter.

She heard him, her hair returned being red and glared at Somnus.

"Sorry.." Somnus said still trying not to laugh.

She punched in the right shoulder, "I'm serious Somnus, and stop laughing at my hair," she said while brushing her hair on both sides.

**…**

"Wow, you two did that early ago," Prompto piped up the video stopped as red-haired turned to him.

Noctis and Astraea turned to him and looked at each other, they both chuckled a little.

"So, are Somnus and Astraea together?" Prompto turned to the messenger.

Reno's eyes widen, "No! don't be absurd." Prompto was surprised by his reaction, he saw this and looked around to see the members of the council looking at his suspiciously. He gazed down to see Astraea looking at him he fakes his chuckled and said, "No, they are just best friends, and Somnus already was a wife the oracle Ashelia Fleuret and besides they are like brother and sister," the people inside the room seem to believe him, he breathed a sigh of relief and continued the video.

…

"Sorry," Somnus smiled at her, "It's just cute when your hair does that," he ruffled her hair mockingly.

She narrowed her eyes towards him, suddenly she grabbed the Somnus hand, twisted it and threw him over and her shoulder. Somnus hit the ground with such force that his cape fell off from his shoulder the people gasped around them.

"Ouch! that gonna hurt," Noctis winched while holding his injured shoulder. "You're truly her descendant Astra," Noctis mocked as he remembered that time that she kicked him. She just rolled her eyes at the Prince, Noctis saw it and chuckled as they continued to watch.

"How many times have I told you not to touch my hair, SOMNUS LUCIS CAELUM!" she warned as she raised her right hand and summoned a fire spell.

Somnus looked up to see, Astraea casting fire towards him, Somnus quick to his feet summoned his blade and warped away, he landed a few feet away from the fiery red-head.

"Sorry!" Somnus shouted another fireball was threw at him and deflected it with his sword and fireball went towards the meteor when it hit the side of the meteor some pieces came crumbling down,"

"Oppss," she flinched as she saw the part of the meteor falling down the crater, after a few seconds the ground their standing on started to shake and a roar came from down the dark crater.

"Sorry, Titan!" she called out and bowed her head down towards the crater, the shaking stopped. She then turned her eyes at the founder king. Somnus raised his hand and his sword disappeared in a flash of blue light.

"Sorry, I was trying to make you laugh,"

"And why is that?" she said while crossing her arms.

"Your people told me that we been distance towards them, you did not smile so much, they just want to see the old Princess they have always known," Somnus said as he walked towards her, "You knew the reckless, stubborn, and happy-go-lucky they dubbed Fire Maiden," Somnus stopped a feet away from her and smirked.

She glared at him and raised her right hand again, Somnus flinched and closed his eyes shut waiting for her to hit him but it never came, a few seconds later he could hear her giggles. Somnus opened his eyes to see the fire maiden laughing while covering her mouth and he laughed with her.

"Thank you, Somnus, you really like a big brother to me," she smiled gently at him.

"Welcome, after all, we promise our parents we help each other," Somnus sighed and looked around the area, "Solheim will raise again, I promise you that, I will help you rebuild Solheim Astraea" Somnus held his hand towards her, "Let rebuild Eos together, Astraea Izunia, Queen of Solheim."

She stood still and gazed at his extended hand, she raised her hand but stopped midway, Somnus saw this and held her hand and shook it gently. Somnus then gazed at her eyes, his sapphire eyes glistening in the light from the lanterns she slowly smiled at him, "Your right, let rebuild Eos together, Somnus Lucis Caelum, King of Lucis," both royalties smiled at each other.

**…**

The video ended and the people around the room started to relax.

"Please sit down," Reno said as he gestured towards the seats.

"Is there still more?" Astraea asked.

"Yes, you still want to watch it you won't like what is going to happen next,"

"If it's okay for you, It's okay for me, Reno"

He nodded toward her, "Please take your seat, Your majesty." Reno helped Regis back to his seat and returned to Astraea's side.

"Well then let's continue?" The king nodded, then with the snapped his fingers and the sphere lights up and showed another video this time they are inside a throne room. The video is still on his point of view, it showed static at the beginning and it cleared up.

…

The throne room has several pillars that form in a circle with a fire basket on top, around the pillar is a circular pond in the middle a stair leading towards a single throne, above the throne is Bahamut Crystal.

Somnus is sitting at the throne with his wife on his side carrying their newborn son.

Astraea wearing a long red dress went towards the foot of the stairs and bowed down, "Congratulation King Somnus and Queen Ashelia,"

"Astraea, please rise up you don't have to bow in front of us."

She rose to her feet and smiled at Somnus, "I want to sing you a song, I want to thank you for all you have done to help my people.

"Did I promise you that I'll help you rebuild Solheim," Somnus stood up and walked down the stairs, "We still have a long way to go, but if you have too, please sing, it's an honor to hear you sing, Your Majesty," Somnus mockingly bowed down, she smacked him on the head and went to the middle of the room. She looked back at Somnus who is still rubbing his head while smiling at her. She took a deep breath and started to sing. (Youtube: Fate/Stay Night - "Brave Shine" (FULL Opening) | ENGLISH ver | AmaLee).

After singing the Fire maiden bowed down, the people around both Lucian and Solheimian clapped and cheered. She looked around and smiled then turned to Reno and but her smile has a hint of sadness to it.

…

The video stopped as Reno took a deep breath to compose himself.

"What wrong Reno?" Astraea stood up and put a hand on his shoulder.

"This is the last time I saw her,"

"Why? did something go wrong?"

"Just watched you find out," he continued the video while Astraea watched beside him.

**…**

The video showed static again after it clear it showed Astraea standing outside the castle in a circular terrace looking overlooking a rose maze.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he went beside her.

"Nothing," she said as she looked straight ahead.

"No, there something wrong with you, your song has meaning to it,"

"It's just a song Reno," she turned to him.

"No, I knew you, you never show your emotion, you use your singing to let your emotion go." he gazed at his master, "Please Astraea tell me."

She exhaled loudly and looked forward towards the night sky, "I saw the future, it's not looking too good,"

"Wait! what?" he raised his voice just a little, "What do you mean, You and Somnus have already defeated starscourge,"

"Yes we did defeat the scourge but Diabolos is still out there waiting for the right moment to strike," she turned to him, "I need to protect my people as the champion of Ifrit, I need to protect the future of Eos,"

"So how will we do it?"

"The other Astrals will choose their champions and there will be the new Warriors of Light and another war will happen, they will fight against the champion of Diabolos."

"Champion of Diabolos?" he asked, his face now full of concern.

"Yes," she lowered her head. "Adagium, he will spread the starscourge yet again and plunged Eos into darkness and war,"

"We have to tell Somnus, we need to prepare!" Reno said as he held her hand and started to walk inside the castle. Astraea did not budge even just a little he slowly turned to her. "Your Majesty?"

"Reno I have an order for you,"

"What is it, I will do everything, I will always be at your side, I promise."

She smiled at him sadly, "I want you to sleep.."

"What!...no!" he backed away.

"I need you to sleep and wake up in the future. I need you to protect and guide the Warriors of Lights towards their fate,"

"No! I will not do that, I will not let you!"

"Sorry Reno you have too, I saw your future if you stay by my side you will die, I don't want that.."

"The hell with my life!" He waved his right arm in protest "I'm your guardian protecting you is my duty, so I will not follow your command!"

"You don't have a choice, this path is mine to take alone, I'm sorry Reno hope you can forgive me," Astraea voice now is breaking.

"No please Astraea don't do this!" he hugged her tightly.

"This is for the future," she took a deep breath and her tears started to fall. "Reno, I order to sleep and wait for the King of Light to be born from the line of Lucis, " she paused and broke the embrace, "When darkness veils the world, the King of Light shall come," she added. "Sorry...you're going to fight without me…"

"No!" Reno's marks glowed, "Please don't do this Astraea!" he begged her as his consciousness started to fade he knelt down trying his best not to follow her command.

Astraea knelt down and cupped his face with her trembling hands, "Sorry…. but I will be okay, I promise. When you wake up and look for my descendants look for Ifrit's flames," she touched his forehead with hers, "Sleep tight my dear Phoenix," she whispered.

Before Reno could speak his body went up in flames, his body turned into a giant egg. The video is now showing Astraea's point of view. She held Reno's egg closed to her body as she sobbed.

"Astraea…" she could hear Somnus's voice in the distance, she quickly and carefully scoped Reno's Egg and disappeared into the rose maze. Darkness filled the screen moments later it came back on. Looks like Astraea is walking inside a room, she walked towards the bed and gently laid Reno's egg down and pulled out the letter and put it beside the egg.

"Sorry Somnus, take care of my people for me, I have to fight the darkness by myself so that Lucis will have a future," Astraea whispered. She started to walk away and turned around again and whispered, "When darkness veils the world, The flame, and the light will be called once more. The bond that was forgotten will be one and the call of the Astrals shall be heard," she opened the door and the video fades to black.

**…**

The whole room plunged into deep silence, nobody wanted to talk, all of them lowered their head down, even Astraea is speechless. Reno looked around to see all their faces and spoke first. "That what happened, I slept for two millennia and woke up 30 years ago, in one of the royal tombs. Because of the war, I don't have time to talk to the current king, King Mors Lucis Caelum and it's not ideal to show up at that time,"

"My father?" Regis asked.

"Yes so I decided to search for the Izunia's, I was surprised that there is no history or written account about them. Especially Astraea Izunia like she never existed in the first place. What I found is that stupid and fake history about Solheim and their people saying that they were power-hungry and caused the war of the Astrals," he hissed as he leaned his hands on the table, "And Ifrit was scorned for his action," his hands turned into a fist his finger turned into talons, drawing blood as he tightened them, "Looks like Diabolos was able to rewrite the history yet again as the other Astrals continued to slumber and I was not there to protect her and her people, I failed as a guardian and Ifrit messengers," he started to tremble in rage.

"Reno.." she put her hands over his right fist he turned to her, "It's not your fault you know, we can't change the past we have to move forward no matter how many people, you may lose, you have no choice but to go in living, No matter how devastating, the blows maybe. You need to have COURAGE to face everything head-on, and at times you are lost don't lose HOPE and always remember LOVE is the strongest weapon you have."

Reno chuckled while shaking his head.

"Why are you laughing?"

"That line you said, it is the Izunia family motto,"

"What?"

Her guardian stood up straight and gazed at her eyes, "Have COURAGE to face everything head-on, and at times you are lost don't lose HOPE and always remembered LOVE is the strongest weapon you have. You are truly her descendant, your truly an Izunia," he took a knee and lowered his head down, "I Reno will always be at your side Astraea Lumina descendant of Izunia, I'll be your sword and shield, I will protect you, that is what I promise,"

"Thanks, Reno, but I don't like that.."

His eyes showed disappointment and worry as he looked up. Astraea smiled and said, "I don't need a protector, I need a friend," she held a hand towards him, "Can you be my friend?"

Without thinking he stood up and lunged at her and hugged her tightly, _**"I promise I won't let anything happen to you again,"** _he thought as he continued to hug her.

"Ah… Reno," she murmured.

"Sorry," he stepped back and ran his hand into his hair. "I just missed her so much, and when I look at you, I can feel she was standing in front of me, I felt that we have been best friends for a very long time," he gazed at her eyes.

"It's okay, I feel the same way about you." she smiled, "So did you find anything about the Izunia?"

"No," he said in disappointment, "I did not even find any trace of their family line, but I did find the Adagium.."

"WHAT! the Adagium! so Diabolos has his champion now?!" she exclaimed.

_**"Crap.."**_ Reno cursed under his breath, _**"I should have watched what I'm saying, nice going Reno.."** _he mocked himself. He is now thinking of a way to give out of the situation when he heard Regis's voice.

"Messenger, where is the Adagium right now?"

He turned to him, "Well…" he paused thinking the right word to say. "His working with…" he paused again and looked around to see people are looking at him in anticipation, he glanced at Astraea who's looking at him the same way. He took a deep breath and blurted it out, "He is working with the Niflheim!"

The people gasped at the revelation the council members murmured to one another, Regis maintains his composure and asked again.

"Are you sure Messenger?"

"Positive, Your Majesty, not only that he has Ifrit under his control as well," Reno stopped and covered his mouth. _**"Shit… shit.. shit...should have not said that!"**_ he stepped back as he screamed internally.

"What!" Ifrit is under control by Diabolos again!" Astraea shouted. "Tell us what happened!"

"You would not like it so let skip it," he said as he took another step back.

"That an order Reno, tell us now!" she barked.

His marks glowed and he stood straight. "OK FINE! Remember that I woke up 30 years ago?" he did not wait for anyone to respond and continued to mumble, "If I'm correct it was M.E. 721, one year after I woke up, I went to the Empire and saw that they have taken Ifrit's slumbering body from Ravatogh so that they can use in the war. I was ready to rescue the Infernian when Adagium came, Ifrit suddenly woke up because of his weakened state, The Adagium was able to daemonize him and this time they able to corrupt Ifrit's soul" he continued speaking a little bit faster, "The Adagium was able to help the empire build Magitek infantry by using his knowledge he attains from Ifrit, the same knowledge was bestowed upon the King of Solheim." he just took a single breath and continued, "The great war started, Lucis was outnumbered so they build the new wall and created the magic barrier, Then King Mors dies and Your Majesty is crowned, and after 13 years in the shadow, the Adagium was able to get inside the walls of Insomnia, and wreaked havoc inside during the founders day festival," The sphere shown the attack on Insomnia, "The old wall has summoned but failed to protect the king, Adagium was able to defeat Regis in battle," he turned to Regis but before Regis could open his mouth he continued, "But before Adagium can kill the king, Bahamut came and repelled the champion of Diabolos, the Adagium was defeated and wounded returned to the Empire, Bahamut was not able to help Ifrit because the only one who can save the God of Fire is his champion, so Bahamut summon me and help me to look for the Izunia that when I found you after year Astraea," he stopped to take breath and gazed his watch, "Oh look at the time, it already dinner time, all said and done, lets, eat!" he announced as he turned around ready to leave the room. The people in the room were left in a state of shock.

"Wait….. what!" Astraea said as her gaze followed Reno as he started to walk away from her. He was able to grasp the doorknob and was ready to open the door when Astraea shouted.

"RENO STOP!"

He stopped as the hair on his back stood up as shivers ran down in his entire body. He slowly turned around and saw Astraea glaring at him. "Get back here, we're not finished yet!" she ordered.

He gulped and turned into his Chocobo from and walked slowly back where Astraea is standing, he stopped a foot from her, "Okay let me repeat what you said, just nod if I heard it correctly."

Rene nodded. "Okay then," she said trying to compose herself as her hair started to flicker yet again, "Let's start at the beginning, after you woke up you went to Empire and saw Ifrit there," he nodded, "The Adagium, the very one in the Prophecy that will plunge the Eos into darkness, Diabolo's Champion is working for them and was able to control Ifrit yet again?" he nodded. "Then they used Solheim ancient technology to create their weapons and army?" Astraea softly said keeping her cool, "And the great war started, the army of Lucis was drawn back inside city of Insomnia and created the magic barrier," he just nodded his eyes not leaving Astraea gaze, "Even with the barrier the Champion of Diabolos was able to get inside and with the help of daemonize Ifrit they almost killed King Regis but lucky Bahamut appeared and save the king is correct?"

Reno slowly nodded, "Yes, I told you would not like it,"

Astraea eye-widen her hair won't stop flickering as she clenched and unclenched her hands suddenly she threw her arms in the air in anger and grabbed Reno and buried her face in his chest, Astraea screamed at the top of her lungs. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Even Astraea scream is muffled by Reno's feather the people in the room can still hear her anguish.

Reno put his neck around her to comfort her as she continued to scream, suddenly Astraea's hands burst into flames it engulfed him in an instant.

She gasped as Reno took a step back away from her still in flames.

"Reno!" she yelled as she tried to walk up to him.

"No, stay back Astraea," he called out, the flames started to die down, "I'm okay," he said as his return to his human form, the flames in now completely off, he laughed as he dusted his suit, his hair brighter and his marks became more visible, "Now that what real fire is, thanks for that Astra-" he gazed at her just to find her crying and trembling.

"Reno I'm sorry... I didn't mean it," She said while quivering her eyes and hair won't stop changing color.

"Oh Astraea, no...no.. don't cry," he cooed as he hugged her and started rubbing her back, "I'm okay, don't worry, have you forgotten? I'm a Phoenix I feed on flame, so don't worry" he reassured her as he broke the embrace and brushed the tears away. "As a matter of fact you made me a lot stronger, Thank you," he smiled, she started to calm down her eyes and hair returned to normal, "Are you okay?," he asked, she nodded, "Okay then please sit down," They went towards her seat. After making sure Astraea is fine. Reno turned towards the council only to see them all looking at him.

"Sorry about that, okay now where are we?" he said as he returned to his cheerful side again.

The prince was silent all this time and was the first to speak, "Astra?" she glanced at him, "Are you okay? we can stop, you know"

She shook her head, "No, I'm okay, how about you are you okay?" she returned the question.

"I'm fine," Noctis just nodded and smiled at her. But deep inside he is freaking out he wanted to shout like Astraea. After all, in just two days ago he was just a normal student with normal life, now he is thrown into a fight he never heard off, as the crown prince he needs to keep his composure because of his statue he can't express his real emotion, unlike Astraea he should never show fear in front of his people. He knew there was no turning back as the crown prince and the destined King of Light he needed to fulfill his calling and helped Astraea to defeat the darkness. _**"Can I do it?"**_ Noctis thought as he gazed towards his father across the table seeking his help. Regis saw how distressed the Prince is. This is the what is trying to stop but even as king he can't stop destiny and his son's fate, he just happy that his son will not have to sacrifice himself, but just like his son, Regis is state of shock, Reno revelation is new to him after all he never did tell him about Adagium and how he became the accursed. All the information he received was new to him just his son and the people around him, but as he needs to be strong and not to show weakness. So he straightened himself into his chair as he gazed towards the two warriors of light.

_**"I promise to protect the two of you, don't worry Noctis, Astraea I will be at your side…"**_ Regis thought.

* * *

_**A/N:** _I know I said that the story from the game will start on chapter 16 but it looks like it will be moving into chapter 20. I keep adding a new storyline after all this story is about the funding of Lucis and I like to venture their life in the crown city so the next chapters will be focusing our heroes' lives inside the city and how they will react after being told about prophecy. Will Astraea and Noctis accept it? so stay tuned..

Hope you enjoy this and have a wonderful day!✩

Next chapter Courage, Hope and Love...


	15. Chapter 13

_**A/N: **__I don't know if I'm portraying Noctis right, his kinda OOC in some part. I'm trying to portray his attitude from in FF versus 13 his more serious side so sorry if he OOC because I need him like that in this story. To expect more serious acting for him, after all his a crown prince. And the quote in this chapter is not from an anime again is from Joshua Graham and one is my own creation, the Izunia family motto._

"_I survived because the fire inside me burned brighter than the fire around me," _-Joshua Graham

* * *

_**Courage, Hope, and Love  
**__"You need to have __**COURAGE**_ _to face everything head-on, and at times you are lost don't lose __**HOPE**_ _and always remember_ _**LOVE**_ _is the strongest weapon you have."_ -Astraea Izunia_  
_

* * *

Reno closed his eyes and slowed down his breathing. As Astraea's guardian, he could feel her emotions and it's not looking good, her feelings are a mix of worry, fear, and anger. He could feel her anxiety that she wants it to be over with and she wants to run away from all this, _**"Did I make it more difficult for you Astraea?"**_ he thought as he continued to feel her pain. Reno cursed himself, this is what he is trying to avoid. Did he make a mistake in revealing the prophecy and make it worse for her? After all, all he wanted to keep her safe but looks like he made the mistake. She is now one step from losing control, he needs to act fast and he needs to plan his next move. One wrong move or one wrong word could lead her to set the whole room on fire. _**"Somnus please help me. I don't know what to do" **_he tried to reach Somnus but the founder King did not answer. _**"Somnus! your sister needs you!" **_still no answered Reno is now starting to lose his temper when he heard a voice call to him.

"Reno, I have a question?"

Reno snapped out from his deep thought and turned to Regis, this is the first time he heard the king call his name as they started. He could hear the fear in the king's voice. He stood straight and looked at the king.

"What is our next move, we are still safe from diabolos reign of terror?" Reno could see Regis's face contorted into fear and worried, the king could not hide his emotion anymore the fear for his son and Astraea. Reno understood his feeling after they have the same feeling right now and that feeling is fear. He just smiled to lessen the negative presence in the room.

"Don't worry your Majesty, The Adagium is weak for now and can't attack-"

"What about Luna? she might be in danger," Noctis stood up and a look of fear plaster on his face.

Reno turned to him and put a hand on his left shoulder, "The Oracle will be alright, Your Highness, don't worry, the high messenger is at her side, and she won't let anyone hurt the Oracle and beside Diabolos needs her,"

"What do you mean?" Noctis asked.

"Diabolos planned to control the other Astrals and the only one who is capable of awakening the other Astrals is the Oracle and beside Diabolos beef is with Bahamut and Ifrit, for he knows they have the power to stop him acquiring his goal. So if I were you, I have been more terrified with my life than the life of others, after all, you're the destined King of Light, killing you is his top priority and yours too Astraea," he turned to her. "You two are his target, so you need to be more careful now, so no more running away okay?" he withdrew his hand and winked at them to try to ease the uneasy feeling away.

"If you are trying to ease our worry away, is not working Reno," Astarea slowly said as she looked his way. He could not answer her, for he was surprised by her negative thoughts and he looked towards the prince, to see that Noctis had the same face, the look of despair.

"How… could we beat a God, Reno...weeee justtt kidsss…" she started to stammer. Reno tried to answer her but he failed when she spoke again. "Am I the reason why they attack Galahd and the reason why my father is dead?"

That question stopped him from breathing, "No… your not.." he tried to answer with confidence but his voice cracked. Hearing and seeing this Astraea suddenly stood and she stepped away. "So I am!" she started to hyperventilate as she tears began to fall, her eyes and hair going wild. "I'm the reason why he died and why the people of Galahd lost their home and loved ones,"

"Astraea.." her mother went to her and held her hand up. "My dear.. stay calm,"

Aerith slowly said as she steps closer.

"NO!" stay back!" she shouted as her hands caught on fire. "I'm always bringing you trouble and pain, I'm cursed... am no warrior of light," she hugged herself and fell on her knees.

"Astraea please calm down," Reno said softly while kneeling in front of her.

The people in the room started to panic and the king saw this, "Don't panic," Regis ordered while walking towards the panicking child, Noctis just stood there in shock together with Ignis, Gladio, and Prompto.

"Astraea..child.." Regis said as he stepped closer and held his hand up.

"NO! stay away!" a ring of fire appeared around her, it burned to the king's hand.

"Your Majesty!" Clarus shouted as he held the King's burned hand and he accidentally glared at her.

The fire Maiden saw the shield glaring eyes she starts trembling while glancing around the room to see all of them looking at her with hateful and fearful eyes. She tried to stop but she couldn't and when she turned to Noctis and his friends her heart sank, as she saw the fear and their eyes.

"No...no...nooo…" she cried as she put her hands on top of her head. "Not again...not again…." she keeps repeating the same word while shaking her head.

"Astraea please, my dear calm down," Aerith whispered as she tried to walk towards her again.

She did not listen to her mother and shouted again, "NO! STAY AWAY!" the ring of fire started to get bigger. "I don't belong here… I don't like it here… I HATE myself! They are right I'm just a monster," she cried.

"THAT ENOUGH!" Reno roared as he burst into flames his shape started to change into a huge bird as the fire died down, he now in his phoenix form(FF8 Phoenix) but he did not use his true size but choice smaller one, the size and height of a griffon. All the people in the room back away, even the King and his shield took a step back. Reno raised up and spread his flame-colored wings. It stretched across the entire room. As he stretched his wing it revealed his secondary feathers were the color of a rainbow and he has three long tail feathers that flowed behind him. Reno looked down at the cowering girl, who had a shock expression on her face. With a single flapped his wings he was able to extinguish the ring of fire. Clarus shielded the King as the gust of wind past them, Gladio and Ignis did the same with Noctis, but Prompto was unlucky he almost stumbles over but Noctis was able to pull him beside him. The gust of wind made the people inside the room shrieked as single chandeliers above the table swung around violently. As the wind dies down and the scream of the people stop. Astraea with her mouth agape started to cry again, Reno saw this and slammed his talons near her.

"Would you stop crying!" he shouted at her, she winced as she sat upright and looked up to him with teary eyes. It pains him seeing her like this, he just wanted to hug her and comfort her but he needs to push her to fight or everything they did will be all for nothing, what he is about to say next will crush her heart and but he needs to do it for the future. With a deep breath, his blue eyes looking at hers it still flickering non-stop.

"Maybe you're not her descendant after all…" he said in a low and disappointing tone. The people inside the room were shocked to hear his statement. her eyes stopped changing color, her face showed sadness as she continued to look at the messenger. Reno saw Astraea was about to open her mouth but he did not let her speak, "For Izunia never give up, Astraea Izunia never did cry like this,"

"But I'm not HER!" she stood up.

"I'm not saying that you are!" Reno replied, keeping his face straight.

"But kept comparing me to her! I'm not like her Reno," she cried, her tears falling again, "I'm scared…" she stopped to breathe, "No terrified! I can't do what she did, I keep saying to myself to face my fear but I can't," she started to tremble, "I just can't.." she lowered her head her tears falling gathering below her feet.

"Astraea," he whispered her name as he lowered his head down. She glanced up and saw her blue eyes, he was looking at her with soft and loving expression, "It's okay to be afraid that makes you human," she tried to stop her tears but it still keeps on failing, Reno gently and slowly brush it away with his beak, "She like that you know, Astraea Izunia was afraid too, but she used that fear that to be more powerful, she never let her emotion stop her," she hugged him burying her face in his feather, "I known it hard to lose someone you loved. You and Astraea Izunia both lose everything but that does mean you have to admit defeat. I know your heart is filled with hatred and sorrow right now but I know you can overcome it, do you member what you said to Ms. Quistis?" she broke the embrace and looked across the room where Quistis is standing. Her friend gave her a smiled of encouragement,

"Yes…" she whispered.

"And what is that?" he asked not breaking eye contact.

She stood straight and brushed her tears away, "_Hatred and sorrow are power. They are yours to control. All you have to do it's turn them into strength and use it to move forward."_

"That right you have to move forward and proved to them that their sacrifice was not in vain, that you still kept fighting. Yes Zack sacrifice his life because of you but he did what he had to do," she looked at him in question, "Because your father believes that you will make it through that you're strong and will fulfill your fate, after all, your his living legacy right? is it okay to cry and it's okay to be afraid just don't let them control you and stop blaming herself,"

"How about you? how can you be this strong you lost everything too right?" she asked as she gazed at his blue eyes it shimmers as he continued to look at her. He just smiled gently at her, "_I survived because the fire inside me burned brighter than the fire around me, _so please keep your fire burning inside your heart, my master," he lowered his head down to her feet, "I will repeat myself, I Reno last of my kind promise to protect you," he looked up to see the shock expression of her face, he just shrugged it off and rose up he opened his wings, "As Ifrit's messenger and your guardian will be right beside you in every step of the way," Astarea looked at him in amazement, "So Astraea Lumina, will you take your fate and become Ifrit's new champion, The Fire Maiden?" Reno asked as he slowly closed his wings.

The fire maiden took a step back and glanced at him and then she glanced around the room, to see the people looking and waiting for her response. She held her trembling hand in front of her. Her eyes and hair started to flicker once again.

"Astraea my dear," Aerith called out to her, she turned to her, "You don't have to accept it if you're not ready,"

Astarea gazed at her mother and remember that promise she made, she promised his father to be his living legacy that she will not let her fear to stop her, so she stopped trembling, her eyes and hair turned red just like the flames inside her heart, her newfound courage, she then looked at Reno with confident, she took a deep breath and said, "I Astraea Lumina, accepts my fate, I will become Ifrit's champion," she bowed towards the messenger.

"That our fire maiden," Reno chuckled as he bowed again.

"Thank you, Reno, for everything but you know it's your fault that I'm like this."

He titled his head in question but before he could ask her, she giggles slightly, "Maybe…. next time…" she walked towards him and grabbed one of his tail as it hovered in front of her, "Choose a right to reveal something like this!" she shouted as he plucked a feather from his tail he let out a cry as he stepped back, "You can't just drop something like that and expect everything to go smoothly!" she scolded him, he blinked several times to let what she said sink it, after a minute he burst out laughing.

"Hmph Hahahahaha, that's good to hear, you're back to normal now," he smirked at her. "Are you okay now? can we continue?"

She nodded as her eyes returned to normal, "I'm fine I just need to calm down for a bit," she turned to the King to see his hand, her face went pale, "I'm very sorry, Your Majesty.." she apologized while bowing.

"I'm fine, little one, It's just a surface burned you don't have to worry," he smiled at her.

"But…I…." she started to tremble yet again, "I put all of you in danger, maybe I should not be here, maybe I should leav-'' Reno smacked her in the head with is one of his tail.

"Ouch!" she snapped her head toward him, "That hurt!" she said while rubbing the back of her head.

"I told you to stop blaming herself if you continue I will keep smacking you until you get the negative thought out of you," he declared.

"Fine!," she said while crossing her arm and turned her head away from him.

"_**You never did change one bit Astraea,"**_ he sighed as Astraea continued to look the other way. He then turned towards the king, to see Regis burned hand, "If I may Your Majesty?" he lowered his head down towards the king. "Held your hand up,"

Without question, Regis held him burned palm up, "What are you going to do?" the fire maiden asked as she walked beside her guardian.

"Watch, one of perks of being a phoenix," he winked at her, he then let a single teardrop fall, it fell into the Regis opened palm, within second it healed the King's hand not only that Regis felt his energy returning, for years Regis held and protected Insomnia using the barrier it toll on his health and ability. He has not been able to summon his Armiger for three years now but now feeling his energy returning so he will try to summon his swords again.

He handed his cane to Clarus, "Your Majesty, what are you doing?" the shield asked as he took the cane. Regis walked forward without the help of his cane and held his right hand up the ring of Lucis lights up and with a flash of blue light his sword appeared it earned as few gasped around him, Regis then summoned the rest of his weapons, its floats around him and the weapons gave a faint blue light and it continued to float.

"Wow!" Astraea awed as her eyes widened, she then turned to Noctis seeing that Noctis has the same expression as her. The prince could not believe what he was seeing, after all, it's been three years since he saw his father wield his weapons.

"The Royal Arms.." Reno snickered.

"Royal Arms?" she asked as she continued to gaze at the floating weapons.

"The Royal arms the weapons passed down from the kings of Lucis," Regis answered her as he unsummoned the Royal Arms, "What did you do to me Reno," Regis turned to him.

Reno smiled as he flapped his wings, "As Phoenix, I have the ability to heal any kind of wounds, Your Majesty, the flames of Rebirth, it can heal wounds and it can also restore someone's energy but it just for a short period of time so please don't go overboard, Your Majesty,"

"I understand, thank you Reno," Regis thanks him and grabbed his cane again from Clarus. He turned towards the fire maiden, "Are you okay Astraea, do you still want to continue, we can stop any time if you wish,"

"I'm okay Your Majesty, what about you Noct?"

The people around the room turned towards the prince, they forgot about him, after all, he is part of this prophecy too, Regis never did ask how his son's feelings about all of this.

"I'm okay," Noctis said while scratching the back of his head, "A little overwhelmed but I can manage and if it's okay with you it's okay with me, so please let us continue,"

"_**No your lying,"**_ she thought as she could felt his emotion like her, Noctis is scared about everything that is happening right now and maybe he is afraid of her too, so she took a deep breath and asked the question, "You must be afraid for me now after you saw what I can do if I lost control," she said while walking towards him she stopped and gaze down at both of their feet.

"What!" Noctis bellowed, "Surprised yes, but scared NO!, Just like what I promise I will protect you Astra,"

"Thank you Noct," she gazed at him for she felt he is saying is the truth. So she is able to sigh in relief, for she doesn't know what she will do if the prince changes his mind about her but that did not happen and she is very thankful for that. That he still accepted her and wanted to befriend her, she wanted to cry again but she stopped herself instead she gently smiled at him he returned to smile, she noticed that the prince still has a sling around his right shoulder. "Your shoulder has not healed yet?"

"No," he looked down, "After all, I don't have rapid healing like you,"

"Well that won't do," she said as she took something from her pocket, it's a potion vail, "Here give me your arm"

"A potion, Astra it won't heal my shoulder,"

"This is different, it is my own creation, come on, step forward."

Noctis just sigh in defeat while moving forward, Astraea gently removed the sling and put the vail in her mouth as he held Noctis wrist in one hand and the other hand to his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" she grinned, Noctis saw this before he could speak, she popped his shoulder in place, pain shoots out Noctis whole body he jerks away but he did not let go his wrist, with her free hand she popped cork with her teeth and pour the glowing blue liquid into his shoulder and arm, then she let go, Noctis took stepped back and held his shoulder. "OUCH! that hurt, why would you do that!" he shouted at her.

Astraea just pocketed the empty vail and looked at him, "Well.."

"Well.. what?" he answered her with annoyance.

Astarea just crossed her arm, Noctis is about to complain but he felt the pain in his shoulder started to go away, he was able to clenched and unclenched his fingers without feeling any pain, he rotated his shoulder and made a few stretches.

"See your shoulder is all healed now," she smiled.

"But how? normal potions can't do that."

"Well my potion can," she glanced around the room to see the people looking at her in amazement, "My potion can even heal internal injury and broken bone,"

"But how? You said you made it right?" Noctis asked.

"Don't know maybe it's because of Ifrit's flame?" she shrugged her shoulder, "And yes it's my own creation, I do alchemy in my spare time."

"Your right," Reno piped up and lowered his head between the two, Reno eyes darted towards Astarea. "The Solheimian was known for their potion and alchemy and yes, its Ifrit's flames are making your potion more powerful, so keep practicing it," she nodded at him. Silent filled the room both Astraea and Noctis stared at each other's eyes, not saying any, it was broken by Aerith's voice.

"Astraea are you okay?" her mother asked her. Aerith placed both her hands on her daughter's shoulder, she turned towards her, "Yes," she lowered her head, "I'm sorry I lost control again,"

"It's fine, sweetie," she cooed as she hugged her and brushed her hair gently, "Just like Reno, I will be here for you," her daughter just buried her face into her body to stop her tears from falling. "I love you.." she heard her whispered.

"I love you too Astraea, and your father will be proud of you," Aerith said as she kissed her in the top of her head.

"I know he is," she replied.

Noctis went to his father to check on him, "Dad," he stopped and gulped as Regis turned to him, "I mean Your Majesty, are you alright?"

Regis just smiled and brought him into an embrace, Noctis eye-widen as he felt his father's arm around him hugging him tightly and lovingly. They never hugged like this after all Regis is always busy as King as they hardly spend the time they even don't have time to eat together, Ignis and his maids practically raised, that the reason why he felt distance towards him, he looked up to him as King and not as a father. That is the reason why he chose to live outside the citadel. But now with his father's arm around him, he felt that his father really loved him so he returned the embrace.

**…**

Silent filled the room as the people around them looked at the father and son, and mother and daughter with admiration. The council member looked at each other and nodded in agreement that they are in good hands. The three teens looked at each other and smiled.

"Do you think they can defeat Diabolos?"

Cor glanced down at Quistis who walked and stood beside him, "There no questioning it, they will fulfill their destiny, as long we guide them in the right path," he smiled at her, "Looks like you have your hands full after all of this they need your help,"

"Of course I am willing to help for the future of Eos, I will help them control their feeling and emotion, especially Astraea," Quistis gazed towards the fire maiden and then she turned to Cor smiled. "Then you must protect them,"

"I'm planning too," Cor said he gaze towards the king and the prince, "I will not let anything bad happened to them,"

"Okay then let's help each other, then Marshall," they both shared a genuine smile as they stared at each other's eyes.

Behind them, Mecia and Claudia are whispering to each other. "They are really cute together right?" Mecia asked.

"You said it," Claudia whispered back.

Their conversation was disrupted by Astraea's voice, they all turned to her.

"That perfect!" the fire maiden shouted out of nowhere she broke the embrace and looked at Noctis.

"What's perfect?"

"My potion! maybe I could produce mass quantities, we can use it in time in battle, I'm planning to give the hunter association as well and maybe the kingsglaive can use it to," she turned towards the three glaives, she smiled at them, they were surprised but was able returned the smile.

"That a great idea Astraea," Reno said as he returned to his human form, "We need to prepare for the future and speaking of the future you need a weapon, no both of you need a weapon, right Your Majesty?"

"Weapon? " both Astraea and Noctis asked as they stood beside each other.

Regis turned to them, "Yes, Clarus please fetch the prince's sword it's in my room,"

"My sword?"

"Yes, I'm planning to give that to you went you turned sixteen but looks like you need it now," Regis put a hand to his right shoulder. "Use it well my son,"

"I promise," Noctis swiftly bowed his head.

"Can you fetch Astraea's sword to shield?" Reno asked while smiling.

"Why can you fetch it yourself, guardian?"

"I still needed here," Reno gestured his eyes towards her master.

Clarus understood what he was trying to say, "Understood, where is it?"

"It's in my room, Clarus," Aerith walked toward him, "I go with you,"

"No it's okay, I can manage, stay here, your daughter needs you,

Aerith nodded after Clarus turned and bowed towards the king and marched towards the door.

"Clarus wait up, I come with you," Cor called out to him, Clarus stopped and opened the door and waited for the Mashal, "We won't be long, don't cause any trouble, Guardian," Clarus glared at Reno. Seeing the glared of the shield Reno just put his hands behind his head and chuckled, "Don't worry shield I behave," Clarus took a final look and closed the door.

"Let's take a 5 minutes rest everyone," Regis announced, the people inside the room relaxed.

**...**

After saying that Regis went towards the table and talked to the council in a hushed tone. While Noctis was yanked away by Prompto, the four friends talked in the corner of the room. Aerith went towards Quistis and Astraea's maids they talked in hushed tone too. That leaves Reno and Astraea standing in the middle of the table.

"Sooo." she murmured as she swayed her body back and forth by the heel of her feet, "Are you still disappointed about me?"

Her guardian gazed down at her, "Disappointed!?" he raised his voice enough to catch everybody's attention. He smiled at them and led her away from the table so that he could talk to her in private. "Why would you say that?"

"Well, you said that I'm not like Astraea Izunia. That I'm…." she murmured and looked down.

Reno sighed and lifted her chin up so that their eyes could meet, "Sorry about what I said, my emotion got better of me, but I very proud of you Astraea,"

"Really?"

"Yes, very very proud, It's an honor to protect and serve you, my master," he took a knee again.

"Please stop that, you don't need to kneel Reno, and please just call me Astra," she said as he helped him to stand up.

"I prefer to call you Astraea, is that okay?" he asked with a smile, she nodded, "What about fire maiden can I call you that?"

"You know I really don't like titles, but you sure call me that, but," she raised her index finger, "Just don't use it all the time,"

Reno nodded, "So how about Princess or your Highness?" he snickered.

"Please don't ever call me that, that's an order!" she stomped her right foot.

"As you wish," he bowed down and raised up and gestured his hand in front and led her back to the table and there she saw that the King was already back at his seat, But Noctis was still talking to his friends. So she took a seat again and waited for the Marshal and Shield to return. A minute passed Aerith took a seat beside her while Reno remained standing beside her. A while later the four boys stopped their conversation, Noctis went and took a seat next to his father. Silence filled the room again.

"Astraea," Reno said in a low tone, "Can I make a request?"

She gazed at him, "Sure what is it?"

"Can you sing? I know you inherited Astraea Izunia's love for signing. I always listen to you but only in the distance, I want to hear it personally this time, "

Astraea is about to protest but Noctis stops her from speaking, "Yeah, Astra I want to hear it too," she gazed toward him and to the King, they were looking at her with pleading eyes and she gazed towards the people in the room, looks like they were waiting for her to sing too, finally, she looked at her mother.

"Good ahead, my dear…"

"Okay then if you wish," she whispered as she stood up,"

Reno smiled at her as she passed him but she glared at him, "Your dead after this Reno.." she mumbled under her breath, Reno heard it and just chuckled. She went towards the middle of the table and straightened her dress and looked forward and taking a deep breath she started to sing. (【mew】" Name of Love" FULL Ver. ║ Attack on Titan S3 Part 2 ED║ ENGLISH Piano Cover & Lyrics)

The room filled with silence as Astraea emotion can be felt by everybody, the song sent shiver down to their body as they continued to listen to her song. In the middle of the song, Somnus spoke with Reno telepathically.

_"The promise that we made today, _

_It's in my heart, it never fades_

_I can hear the blowing wind _

_Calling through the map, it's a sound I won't forget"_

"_**Her mind might have forgotten it by her heart did not," **_Somnus said softly.

"_**I know Somnus.." **_

After finishing her song she took a deep breath to stop herself from crying but went she looked shocked to see the King and Noctis crying.

"Are you okay, Your Majesty? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, my child.." Regis answered softly, "It's just your song has meaning to it, we can feel your emotion, you really give it all," he paused and gazed around the room the councils nodded at him, "It sad and happy at the same time, it gives us hope. Thank you Astraea, it's an honor to hear you sing,"

Before she could reply the door opened and Clarus and Cor returned with two sword cases, one blue, one red. She remained standing and gave way to them. They carefully lay the cases down and Regis then walked towards them Noctis not far behind.

"Noctis the blue is yours and Astraea the red one is yours," Regis gestured to them to open it. The fire maiden and king of light stop in front of the table. They hesitated at first so they looked at each other.

"Lady first," Noctis gestured towards the red case.

She wanted to protest but she decided not too and slowly opened the case, her eyes widened to see a familiar red sheath, she just stared intently at the sheath it was red and blue phoenix feather engraved on it. She awed at the handle it was beautifully elaborated. The crossguard is an open winged with sapphire in the middle of the wing and the knuckle guard is a single feather. It was familiar, that when it dawned on her. This is the sword of Astraea Izunia's the one she kept seeing in her dream.

"Wait this is her," she whispered her eyes not leaving the sword.

"Yup, It's her Astarea Izunia's rapier, Solis the Blade of the Sun," Reno said as he took it and handed it to her. "This is the only thing I found related to her the only evidence that she existed, as the Ifrit's new champion you will inherit it, take it," she reached for the handle but stopped, she looked up to him, "Go ahead take it," he smiled. She took a deep breath and unsheath the rapier from its cover. She took a step back to admire the blade, it's really the rapier in her dream, its red slender blade glowed under the light of the room giving it a majestic look.

"Wow! it's cool Astra, it suits you perfectly,"

"Thanks, Noct," she smiled at him and returned her attention towards the rapier, "Are you sure you want me to use it Reno, I might shatter it, just like the others,"

Reno waved his hand, "Don't worry about it, it's made from Ruby and Mithril, It won't break, it can stand your flames, trust me, try it for yourself,"

She looked at him and looked back at the sword in her hand, "okay then, please step aside,"

They obliged and took a step back, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, her hair started to turn red when she opened her eyes is now crimson, "Fire," she murmured, The blade suddenly burst into flames, it got bigger and bigger and still the blade shown no sign of breaking, she made a flashing motion to turn the flames off. "It's beautiful Reno, thank you. I promise to take care of it," she smiled at him, he returned the smile and handed the cover to her, "You need a belt for that, after all, you can't summon and unsummon it out of thin air just like the Royal Arm, Ifrit's flames do not work like that," she carefully sheathed, "It's okay, I'm used to carrying a weapon anyway," she looked at her mother and remembered that gift her father gave her the red dagger. "Does my dagger belong to Astraea too? the one my father gave me and did you give it to them, for I remember using this sword the night the empire attacked Galahd?" she asked.

"Yes, I did," he paused then suddenly a look of distress ran across Reno's face, "Wait you remember what happened that night!?"

"Yes.." she paused and looked down, "I remembered everything now, how you save me and until my fathers' death,"

"Why did you say anything, dear," Aerith walked up to her.

"It's okay, I already accepted it, I don't want you to worry I know you're hurting to mother, so I decided to keep it all to myself," she smiled sadly at the mother, "I can take it, after all just like Izunia's motto,_ You need to have COURAGE to face everything head-on, and at times you are lost don't lose HOPE and always remember LOVE is the strongest weapon you have."_ they all fell silent, she did not want that for her tears started to fall again so she shook her head and turned to Noctis.

"Your turn," she smiled at him.

"Are you okay?" he asked her

"Yes, please go ahead," she patted him on the back.

Aerith, Reno, and Regis looked at each other, they wanted to say something but they decided to stay silent, after all, it looks like Astraea doesn't want to go any further.

"Alright then…." Noctis walked open the case and his eyes widened as he saw his sword. It was amazing is a one-handed sword he held it up in the air.(Engine Blade)

"Wow!" Noctis murmured as he tried the sword.

"Hey Noct," he turned toward Astarea, "Yeah?"

"Want to test? Let's have a mock battle, " she smiled as she unsheathed her rapier and raised it towards him.

"Here?"

"Why not?" Astraea snickered she was ready to launch forward but Reno stopped her and yanked the collar of her dress and he held her up.

"Astarea, this is not the right time, wait until we finished,"

"Okay fine," she mumbled, "Can you put me down now," Reno did put her down gently.

"Astraea," she turned towards her mother, "Yes?"

"Sword now!" she held her hand up.

"Wait why?"

"Have you forgotten you are still grounded so hand me the rapier now, you get it back after a month,"

"But…"

"No buts young lady give it now,"

She mumbled incoherent words under her breath as she returned the rapier to its cover and gave it to her mother's open palm.

She could hear Noctis laughing, she glared at him, he jumped and straightened himself up. He smiled at her with a wave of his hand the sword disappeared. Noctis turned to his father and bowed down. "Thank you, Your Majesty, I will cherish it," Regis gave his son a loving smile and patted him on the head.

"Hey that is not fair!" she shouted while pointing at the prince, both the king and the prince turned to her, "Your Majesty, the prince went outside the city too, and he did ditch school, he should be punished too," she stood beside the prince, "We made a bet, loser will take the all the punishment, I won so that means the prince is grounded for two months and I'm free!"

"Hey!" Noctis shouted "That void now, we almost got killed so our bet is off,"

"What no!" she turned to him, "I bet is a bet, you're a prince you should honor your word so take my punishment,"

"No, I will not take it, let make another bet, let's do the mock battle, the result of the fight will determine who will take the punishment,"

"Alright, then Your Highness! your ON!" she held her hand up Noctis shook it firmly, "I will not lose this time Astra, so be ready!" he said with confidence. They noticed all the silence around them. They looked around to see the dumbfounded expression of the people around them, seconds later the king's laughter broke the silence the other followed him. With the laughter around them, Noctis and Astraea have forgotten why they are there, they did not feel the darkness coming toward them.

"You to seem very close now," Regis put his hands and each their heads, "Your acting like your siblings,"

Both warriors of light turned to each other and smiled. The king is right, both of them are very close even if they just met a day ago. She could not explain it but she felt drawn to Noctis and Noctis is drawn to her, as they were searching for each other. She promised herself to protect her newfound family where she finally felt accepted and loved.

Reno is just looking at them in silence, a smile crept onto his lips, " _**You finally home Astraea, I make sure to protect you.." **_

Are we finished here, Reno?" Regis turned to the guardian.

Reno snapped his attention towards the king and then the council with a huge smile he said, "Yes, where are finished here Your Majesty, but if any of you have a question, I gladly answer it."

"I have a question Reno," Astraea raised her hand.

He smiled at her, "What is Princess?" he teased.

She frowned at him, he just chuckled, "I like to know.." she trailed off as she looked at her mother, she gave her mother a sad look, Aerith has confused why is she is looking at her like that she stood up and about to asked when her daughter spun around and asked Reno a question.

"I like to know what happened to my real parent," she blurted out. It surprised him, his eye shot wide open as he gazed at her. "Your real parents?" he asked.

"Yes," she turned to her mother to find she standing beside her, "I'm sorry mother I just want to know, I want to know what happened to the Izunia, but my feeling for you will not change, you and father will remain, my parents, after all, you treated me as your own, so sorry for asking for them,"

Aerith sighed and hugged her, "It's okay, my dear," she whispered while brushing her hair, "I want to know too, and your right our relationship will not change you are still my daughter and I'm still your mother, I will be here for you," they shared a heartfelt hugged and then they turned to the messenger to see him still stunned.

"Hey… Reno are you okay?"

Reno jumped slightly, "I yes, sorry…," he gulped as he does not know what to do or what to say next, "Do you really want to know Astraea?"

"Yes please,"

"Even if it's bad?"

"Yes, good or bad I want to know,"

"Okay then," he clapped and rubbed his hand nervously, "But first take your seat Astraea, Aerith and you too, Your Majesty, Your Highness, this is going to be a long story," he gestured to the table. Both the king and prince nodded and went towards their seats. Astraea and her mother did the same. While waiting for the king and prince to sit down, Reno's mind went into full-blown panic, "_**What to do… what to do…." **_he kept shifting his weight from one foot to another by doing so the council noticed his nervous action and they gazed at him in suspicion he noticed and tried to act cool but deep inside his a nervous wreck,

"_**Be calm Reno!" **_Somnus voiced boomed inside his head he jumped by the sudden intrusion.

"Are you okay Messenger?" Clarus asked as he stood behind the king next to the marshal.

"Yes, I'm okay.." he trailed off as his eyes gazed around the room, he took a deep breath and asked Somnus, "_**What will I say Somnus, I don't have any story to tell,"**_

"_**Don't worry I will help you just say that….." **_Reno stayed silent as he listened to Somnus intently.

"_**Okay then Somnus I hope this works…" **_he replied nervously.

"Reno…."

He felt a touch to his shoulder. He turned to see her master standing beside him, "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine are you sure you want to know? It's not a happy ending, after all," he joked as he rubs her hair gently.

"Yes, I sure, don't worry I won't lose control if that's what you're worried about I will be fine."

He just smiled at her sadly and helped her to her seat, "Okay then but first I need to tell you about the consequences or effect on being the Champion of the Astrals," he said while walking towards the middle of the table again.

"Consequence?" the king asked.

"Yes, there is a good side and a bad side of being the champion of the Astrals and the warriors of Light. The good side is you will have the power of a god in your fingertips," both Astraea and Noctis stared at their hands, Reno chuckled at the sight of it. "The bad side is that because of the great burden and responsibility that falls into your family the Astrals give a curse to both Caelum and Izunia.."

"A curse? why would they give that Reno," Astraea asked in disbelief.

"Well it's not a curse per se," he tilted his head, "More like a fail-safe for both Astrals and champion,"

"What is that?" Noctis asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well.. it means both Caelum and Izunia is destined to have one heir, apparently it will secure that the power of the Astral remained pure and their power will not be shared by multiple siblings so the bloodline remained strong."

"So that explains why the Caelum always has one heir per generation," Regis said he remembers all the Past Kings and Queen have only one son or daughter.

"Your correct, Your Majesty, same goes to the Izunia,"

"So there is no question that she is the descendant of the Izunia," Aerith asked.

"Yes, I'm sure of it after all," Reno looked into Astraea's brown eyes, "She the spitting image of Astraea Izunia, no question asked."

"Okay, so what about the Fleuret, Lady Lunafreya has a brother, if I remember correctly," Noctis asked.

"Well the Fleuret are just messengers like me, they don't have the curse," Reno replied.

"Why would Bahamut and Ifrit do that, I know it is safer to keep the power of the Astrals in one family line but, it's a death trap... " Astraea trailed off as all attention of the people turned to her.

"Deathtrap?" Reno asked.

"Well, as you said their only one heir per generation, so if I or prince is killed the bloodline will be broken, that will make Diabolos job easier no heir, no champion, Right?" she tilted her head towards the guardian. "Is a bad note to start with and not only that it will just put more pressure on the current champion, " Reno is taken aback and he kept looking at her as he hears Somnus voiced inside his head.

"_**She's right…. " **_Somnus chuckled, "_**She hasn't changed at all she still got her **__**wit**_,"

"_**You know she got it from both of you." **_

"_**No, she got it from him… " **_Somnus trailed off, "_**she got it from Ardyn, she didn't have any good traits from me..."**_

"_**What are you saying Somnus, Astraea has the strength of your heart, you never give up you kept going keeping you always kept the hope alive in your heart. The three of you represent Courage, Hope, and Love, so please don't forget that…" **_Reno reminded the founder king.

"_**It that so...well she has forgotten about all of that... because of my action, so please Reno protect my sister," **_Somnus trailed off his connection with Reno is fading.

"_**Wait, Somnus!" **_Reno tried to call him but Somnus had already left his mind, he took a deep breath and focused his attention on back toward his master.

He smiled brightly at her, "Well, your right Astraea, So don't ever do something STUPID!" Reno shouted at her, she jumped slightly in her seat, he turned to the prince, "Same goes for you Your highness no more running away and no more fighting daemons, unless I said or the King give you permission. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Astraea and Noctis whispered.

"I DID NOT HEAR IT! DO YOU UNDERSTAND WARRIORS OF LIGHT!"

"YES, SIR!" Both warriors bolted up from their seats and answered the guardian.

All the people in the room were shocked, their eyes widened and mouth agape, moments later Regis burst into laughter they all turned towards him.

"I must say Reno, you have the authority do you want a place in the Crownsguard, Kingsglaive, or even the council? I can give any position you want,"

"It's quite tempting Your Majesty," he bowed to him, "But I okay with being a messenger and Astraea's guardian but if need my fiery attitude and guidance, I can lead it to you, especially keeping this two in line.." he glanced toward the prince and the fire maiden who's now back on their seat their head down grumbling in silence.

"Well then now that out of the line let's go back to the main topic, Astraea real parent." Reno voiced changed from cheerful into a serious one. She looked at him as the presence in the room changed. He took a deep breath and gazed at her eyes, his eyes showing sadness.

"I'm sorry Astraea, but your real parents are dead…"

Her eyes widened as she heard him say that, her hands started to tremble so she clenched her hand into a fist and hid it below the table. She took a deep breath to compose herself.

"Are you okay, you don't have to know… Astraea" Reno said in a low voice.

"No," she shook her head, "I'm okay I want to know, please continue.."

Reno sighed in defeat and ran his right hand through his red locks. "Fine just don't lose control." she nodded at him, with that he continued. "I don't want to say it, I still have problem in looking for them during that time, but after attacked on Insomnia, something happened," He paused gazed towards the council, "After a year the prince was born and after a month I felt something, Ifirit's flames so I went towards it, but.." he stopped and glanced down at Astraea who's just looking at her with an expressionless face. "That flames brought me to Angelgard,"

"Angelgard?" she asked.

"It's a sacred island near Galdin Quay, the island acts as a gathering point of the Astrals back then before the first Astral War." after explaining it to her, he continued. "What found was…" he stopped he took a deep breath again and continue, "A two people fighting for their lives they were surrounding by daemon, one male and one female, the female has the crest of the Izunia in her coat and was on labor," he looked down to her, "While the male fought off and kept the daemon at bay, I went to help the female in delivering her baby, went the baby was born, I felt Ifrit' flames once again, that when I know found she an Izunia's. The delivery took a toll on the female, but before she passed away she told me she is Garnet Iznunia, that she is the descendant of Astraea Izunia and the baby in my hand will help the King of Light to defeat the darkness forever."

"So she is my mother?"

"Yes she is, she died minutes after you were born, I'm very sorry, Astraea.." he lowered his head down.

"It's okay Reno, It's not your fault..so what happened to my father?"

"He took severe wounds, back then I could not heal him, for I was still weak, could not do anything.." Reno leaned his hands into the table in clenched it into a fist. "I failed as a Guardian yet again that night, I could not protect her.. I could not protect anyone…" Reno started to cry, "I'm very sorry Astraea… very sorry…." he went for a hug while kneeling, she was surprised but hugged him back. "I could not protect them….." Reno stopped to breathe as he continued to cry, "I could not protect you…." Reno's fingers turned into talon, she let out a whimpered as felt his talons dug into her shoulders. Reno flinched away, "Oh my god, Astraea, I'm so sorry… sorry…." he hands started to shake as it hovers above her wounds, " I don't mean to hurt you, I'm sorry…. I'm sorry….."

"Reno…" Astarea was just looking at him in disbelief in his reaction, she thought that a messenger should always keep their emotion under control and never show it. Now she knew that like humans, he could feel emotion too, like anger, fear, and sadness. She gently cupped his face brushed his tears away, she gently and lovingly gazed at him. "I'm okay Reno," she smiled, "It is healing now and you did not hurt me, in fact, you are the one who saves me…if you did not go to Angelgard I be died by now together with my parents, for that I thank you…" she kissed him in the forehead, "So stop crying my little Chocobo…"

They both hugged each other and cried in silence and all the people in the room remained silent to give the two some time to mourn. Regis gazed at the messenger with sad eyes, he knew something had happened on the island. After all, all the stories Reno is telling the council now were made up, half is a lie and half is true. Reno never told them what really happened the night when Astraea was brought to the Lumina's. In their last conversation, they are always asking for it for its the only thing he did not tell them, but Reno's answer is always the same, you will know as if the right time comes. So they did not force him to say it. Regis leaned back to his chair and looked at Cor and Clarus, both have the same expression, then Regis turned to Aerith, she was crying too and while brushing Astraea hair from behind. After three minutes Reno and Astraea were able to compose themselves. Reno stood up and brushed his tears away.

"Sorry about that," he said while trying to straighten the cuff of his suit. "Will not happen again,"

"You know it's okay to cry, you said it yourself we just need to control your emotion and not let the emotion control you, right?"

"Yeah that right, but I'm a messenger and your guardian, I should not show any weakness," he crossed his arm.

"But you still human you know, how about this I order you to cry if you really want to cry, and it's okay to let your emotion show, Okay Reno… that an order," she said while pointing her left index finger at right.

His marks glowed, he glared at her slightly but he smiled afterward. "_**Nice … it will be more difficult now…"**_ he complained inside his mind, after all, Astraea order will make his task a lot more difficult, the task to keep the truth from her. He exhaled loudly and closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "_**This is going to be fun!" **_ He is now lost in thoughts he opened his eyes again when he heard Astraea's voice again.

"Reno.."

"Yes…"

"What happened to my parents? Can you show me how they looked like and what happened to them,"

"Are you sure?" she nodded, "Alright then," the sphere lights up and showed a photo of the couple. The females had black hair and brown eyes like Astraea, while the males had blonde hair and blue eyes. "Looks like all the descendants of Izunia were all females and inherited her black hair and kept the Izunia family name even after marriage. I want you to meet Garnet and Zidane Izunia.." (Final Fantasy 9 Garnet and Zidane(without a tail) adult from).

Astraea gazed at the portrait of the said couple, she could not understand why she didn't feel anything from them, unlike with Vincent and Lucrecia, she just shook her head and put all the thought behind her, "So what happened after that. After I was born, did you bury them?"

"No, it's Solheim tradition to burn our dead, so I decided to do that and give them a proper send-off,"

"Oh.. okay, thank you for giving them proper burial then, Reno.."

"Don't thank me, I just did what I needed to do.."

"So what happened after that?"

"Well.." he scratched the back of his head, "You know, your very cute back then Astraea, but you kept on crying and I don't know what to do so I decided to take you to King Regis,"

"But you did not," Aerith asked, "You took her to us, why?"

"Well like I said I was planning to bring her to king but when I arrived at the crown city I learned a terrible news," he turned to Regis, "Because during that same night Queen Aulea died," Reno stopped and looked at the Prince, "It just a month after the prince's birth, the whole kingdom were mourning I could not bring myself adding more responsibility on to you, Your Majesty," he lowered his head toward Regis, "I known that the lowest time of your life as a king, having your queen and wife taken from you is hard so I decided to search for others to take care of you Astraea," He returned his attention towards the mother and daughter, "I went and returned to Angelgard, that went I found Aerith and Zack praying near the Island, they were praying that the Astrals will grant them a child, so answered their call, I left you to them, and I did not make a bad decision, Aerith and Zack did raise you properly and loved you as their own."

"What about the meteor, my necklace? My mother said that it felt from the sky," she said as she unclipped the necklace and showed it to the council. The council awed as they gazed at it, she twisted it to reveal that it was two colors, one blue and one red.

"Yes about that," Reno took the necklace from her hand and raised it at eye level "This was her's too you know, Astraea Izunia. I asked for its help that night, it's the necklace that picked Aerith and Zack. That is the reason why they found it that night it went towards them after searching in the sky for an hour. The loved inside their heart attracted the crystal to them, So that the reason why Aerith and Zack became your parents,"

"Really that cool," she said as Reno handed her back the necklace. "Wait this is not a gemstone?"

"Nope," he crossed his arms and snickered. "That is what's left of Ifrit's and Shiva's Crystal,"

"WHAT!" Astraea bellowed as she threw the necklace away.

The messenger was able to catch it, "Woah! don't do that!"

"Sorry...sorry...I don't know why I did that,"

"It's okay is my fault, I did surprise you after all, sorry about that," Reno said as he put the necklace back in her neck. "There, don't ever remove that, Astraea even it's broken it still has a little power to protect from the darkness,"

She nodded and took a seat down, "Okay then can I continue?" Reno asked.

"Yes.. please…" she answered him.

Reno continues, "I want to reveal them about you but Bahamut stopped me in doing so,"

"Why?" she asked again.

"Well….Bahamut said the Diabolos thought he had killed all the Izunia bloodline that the Champion of Ifrit is no more, So if I reveal it to Lumina's it will endanger your life and there, So Bahamut made a barrier in Galahd to protect you from Diabolos, but the accident 7 years ago changed that, I have to tell Aerith and Zack about you and your destiny so that they can protect you, I know you suffer after that Astraea, I apologized for not helping you I need to be away from you so that you can be safe."

"I understand Reno, Thank you," she turned to her mother, "Thank you, mother, for raising me and never giving up on me,"

Aerith just hugged her again, "You don't have to thank me Astraea, after all, you're my daughter and your father will be proud of you,"

Astraea tears started to fall again as she hugged her mother.

Reno smiled while looking at them then turned towards the council. "So that it's the complete life's story of Astraea, Any questions?" Reno cheerfully asked.

The room remained quiet for a minute, Reno thought it all over now that they can all rest, especially Astraea, but Drautos the captain of the kingsglaive raised his hand up. "I have a question,"

"Okay what your question captain?" Reno said.

"It's for Lady-Astraea," Drautos turned to her, Astraea stopped hugging her mother and wiped her tears away and sat up straight as she looked at him, "What is it, captain?"

"I know this is hard to ask, but you said that you remember everything that happened when the empire attacked, do you remember that black flames you use to defeat the empire?"

"Black flames?" Astraea face turned pale as murmured the words, Reno felt her anxiety kicking in, so he tried to divert the question but before he could do that the captain spoke again.

"Yes, the black flames that destroy the empire entire fleet and half of the island.

"Wait... what...I destroyed Galahd…." her breath became erratic as her eyes and hair started to flicker again.

"Yes, half of the Isl-"

"Drautos stop it!" Regis raised his voice at him and slammed his hands on the table stopping him, Regis then turned to Astraea, he saw that she having a panic attack again. Drautos saw the glaring eyes from the king and from Reno before he could apologize, Astraea suddenly stood up her eyes and hair won't stop flickering.

Astarea could not understand her feelings. After all, this is the first time she heard it, her mother never did tell her about what happened to Galahd even if she begged her to tell her. Now she knows why Galahd was destroyed and it was her that destroyed her home. She shut her eyes closed and clenched her hand as she tried not to lose control again. She could hear the voice of her mother and Reno, telling her that it was not her fault. She was able to control her breathing but that changed when she heard a low sinister voice inside her mind.

"_**Found you…"**_ the voice said as it chuckled deeply.

Then the sphere burst into purple flames, they all back away, Reno eyes-widen as he saw the purple flames, his face went pale as he felt the familiar presence.

"Diabolos…" he whispered under his breath…

* * *

_**A/N: **_I know Quistis Trepe is 18 years old in her game, but for this story, she will be 38 and the same goes for Aerith while Cor is 40 years old. I will be pairing Cor and Quistis after all in the game he does not have one and deserved to have one so here I'm pairing them together…

Hope you enjoy this and have a wonderful day!✩

Next chapter Diabolos and The Caelum's Dark Past...


	16. Chapter 14

**_A/N: _**To all my readers, thank you for reading my story and hope you're still enjoying it :) I have to change the chapter title from Diabolos and The Caelum's Dark Past to** The of Dark Astral And Weakness of One's Heart**

There are two quotes for this chapter, one is from an anime and one is from an Unknown Author.

_"For a friend is someone who can see the truth and pain even when you're fooling everyone else."_ -Unknown Author

* * *

**The of Dark Astral And Weakness of One's Heart**  
_"If nobody cares to accept you and wants you in this world, accept yourself and you will see that you don't need them and their selfish ideas" -Alibaba Saluja(Magi)._

* * *

The lights inside the council room started to flicker as the purple flames became bigger and bigger. The glaives and their captain summoned their weapons and surrounded the table while council members back away from the flames. Cor and Clarus went in front of the King. Ignis and Gladio did the same with Noctis while Prompto stood beside him. Astraea just stood petrified and kept looking at the flames, Aerith stood in front of Astraea, pulling out her staff, while Reno transformed into his Phoenix form to try to extinguish the flames. He flapped his massive wings but it did not do anything and he was about to do it again when a low and sinister voice came out from the flames.

"Lucians…." the voice laughed, as a pair of yellow eyes appeared in the middle of the flames. They all stopped breathing as they felt a dark and evil presence filled the room. "Do you think you can defeat me?" all of them cover their ears with their hands as the dark voice ringed loudly inside their ears and their head. "The Astrals failed to do so… why do you think you can?" the voice asked as its gaze darted across the whole room looking and making eye contact at everyone its gaze landed lastly on the fire maiden. "Ifrit's champion," he smirked. Reno went towards the mother and daughter and enclosed his wings protectively around them. The flames became larger as it showed the silhouette of Diabolos it hovered in the middle of the flames. "Ifrit's messenger, it's nice to see you again Reno..." he said coldly.

"Diabolos!" Reno sneered as he enclosed his wing more closely around his master.

"How does it feel to fail your masters and your god?" Diabolos snickered.

"Shut up!" Reno shouted back.

"You will fail again just like in Solheim and in Lucis…" Diabolos' sharp yellow eyes darted down at Astraea who was shaking in fear.

"No, I won't! I will not let you win this time Diabolos," Reno said as his comb burst into flames and ran down his spine and into his wings.

Diabolos smirked at the sight of it, "Do you think you can defeat me, guardian? Ifrit is now under my control….and I will be able to control his champion too…" his yellow eyes focused on Ifrit's champion, "Astraea…..."

Astraea tense up as she heard the God of darkness mention her name he laughed, "You are still fighting?" Diabolos said as he spread out his wings, "Doesn't matter you will still lose...'' the dark Astral pointed his claws at her, "Do you think they will accept you? After all, you have done.." Astraea tried to speak but she was silent by the laughter of the dark astral, "Let see if they will still want you after knowing what your flames unleash," Diabolos laughed again and it resonated around the room as his shadow disappeared. The purple flames started to show a video. The video is a first-person point of view of someone's memory. It started as the person kept running towards the sound of beasts fighting in the distance when the person arrived at the clearing, they heard the person gasped after seeing a pack of Sabertusks surrounding a Red Chocobo chick.

"That… my….memory..." Astraea murmured as she tried to stay calm. All the people turned towards her and went back to the video. The video showed how she protected Reno and how she used her flames to kill the sabertusk and burned the forest with it. It showed the devastating effects of her wild flames. It stopped when she lost consciousness in Zack's arm. Video faded to black then showed a different memory. It's the memory of Hojo and how he used Astraea to get the leadership of the island. The video faded again and showed the memory of the day that she went back to school and how she was treated and was bullied by her classmates. From there the video showed everything how the people of Galahd treated her and the several times that Kadaj and his brothers bullied her, the last memory is the time they toss her inside the well, the video faded to black again. A shiver ran down Astraea spine as her memory came flooding down again she started to tremble yet again her eyes and haired flickering.

_**"MONSTER!"**_

_**"DAEMON!"**_

_**"WITCH!"**_

She could hear the phantom voices inside her head. She hugged herself and started to cry. Reno saw this and changed back to his human form to comfort her.

"Astraea… don't lose control, this is what he wants, don't let him win," Reno said as he rubbed her shoulders she turned to look at him,

"Reno...make it stop please…." she begged him.

Reno snapped his head towards the sphere and cast a firebolt towards it, it collided with the black flames, It blew up and sent shock waves and flames across the room. The glaves summoned a barrier to protect the council members. Regis did the same to protect him and his son and his friends. Clarus shielded himself with his giant sword while Cor protected the three ladies. Reno shielded Astraea and Aerith, red wings sprouted from his back and enclosed it around them, he winced as the purple flames burned his wings he fell down on his knee as the flames destroyed the all the lightning and shattered the windows it plunged the room in darkness the purple flame is the only source of the light.

"Reno!" Astraea cried out as she knelt beside him, her eyes widen in horror as she saw how badly Reno is hurt. "Don't move...let me heal you.." she said as she searched for a potion in her pocket but she failed to find one, "Reno…" her voice quivered.

"Your flames…" Reno was able to blurt out the word. Astraea remembered what happened early and what her flames did to him, so she tried to summon her flames but nothing happened. "Reno, I could not summon it…" she started to panic.

"It's okay we need to get out of here," Reno said as he stood up with her help. "Your Majesty, we ne-" before he could finish his sentence the purple flames burst again into a ring to fire. This time it knocked everyone down except for Astraea.

"Mother!" Astraea screamed as she tried to go to her but the purple flames incircle her keeping in place.

"Astra!" Noctis shouted and stood up as he ran towards her.

"Wait, Noct!" All this friend called him.

The Prince stopped in front of her and reached a left hand towards her.

"Noct!" she cried as she held her right hand to him, they both screamed in pain as the purple flame burned their hands.

"Noctis!" Regis shouted as he went towards his son and held his burned hand. Regis saw how badly he's hurt, "It's not safe here go now!" he pushed Noctis towards the door, "Get out now!" he ordered.

"No! I won't leave you, I won't leave Astra!" they both looked at her, she was holding her hand in pain.

"No, go, I will be alright... save yourself!"

"How many times I tell you that I will not leave you!" he shouted at her.

Before she could reply and the sphere started to show her memory again as the people around her stood up. It now showed the day when Kadaj and his brother tried to assault her and her escape and being captured again. The people gasped as they saw how they tortured her and the pain she endured. Noctis and his friends were speechless, Astraea told them what happened to her, but they never imagined being like that, their eyes were filled with horror and anger as they continued to watch. They saw how Astraea lost control and summoned a fire phoenix. They all looked at the messenger, he saw this and glared, "Yes, that was me! what I'm supposed to do! They were going to kill her!" Reno defended himself.

The video continued they saw how Reno burned down half the island, and how Zack was able to stop Astraea, it continued towards the next day the confrontation of the Lumina's and village people and how the Marshal was able to stop the fight and Astraea journey inside the burned forest to let her emotions go it stopped after her song.

Astraea could feel glaring eyes landed on her, **_"Are they scared of me?_****_" _**she questioned herself as she tried to focus on controlling her emotion. The purple flames burst into a much larger as the video continued again. This time showed the attack on Galahd. They all stopped and watched as memory started from the time when Astraea woke up towards the death of her father, Astraea fell down in her knees as she saw her father die once again. Her eyes showed sorrow and sadness but it changed into fear as the video changed into Aerith's point of view. She saw how she was engulfed by black flames, she trembled and hugged herself as she saw the destruction she caused. The video ended when General Glauca gave his last warning. The purple flames started to die down. The council started to whisper at each other.

"She is dangerous…"

"We can't let her stay here.."

"She is a monster.."

Those are the words she heard from them, she closed her eyes shut and covered her ears so that she could not hear it.

"SHUT UP!" Reno shouted at the council, "You saw what happened it's not her fault!"

The council was surprised by the sudden outburst from the guardian but it did not stop them from doubting her. Astarea looked up to see Reno glaring at the council. She could feel all the emotion around her, fear, despair, and hate emanate around the room. "They are right, I'm a monster," she whispered as she trembled in fear.

"Your Majesty what is happening, let us in!" a guard at the other side of the door shouted. The three glaives tried to open the door but it closed shut.

"We need to get out of here Regis," Clarus said while supporting his king.

"No! we need to save her," Regis said as he tried to use his ice magic to extinguish the fire but nothing happened.

"Leave her, it's her fault!" a councilman said.

_**"See… child, they won't accept you.." **_Astraea could hear Diabolos voiced inside her head.

"What!" Reno glared at the man.

"Maybe if we killed her the flames will go out." another councilman said as he summoned his weapon.

_**"They are going to kill each other and it's all your fault child..."** _Diabolos chuckled. She covered her ears because she doesn't want to hear the Astral's voice.

"Come and try!" the guardian sneered at them as he went in front and his fingers turned into talons.

_**"They are going to kill you and your guardian,"** _Diabolos continued to whisper, _**"Protect him, protect yourself, lose control!" **_Astarea saw the fight was about to happen when she heard Diabolos voiced. _**"**__**Yes, fight… let your anger grow!"** _That when she knows what Diabolos is trying to do, his making her lose control again and making the people around her fight each other. She snapped out of her scared state and was able to think properly. She looked around to see a faint black smoke around each person's hearts. She knows its Diabolos influence she has to do something or else the Dark Astral will win. She closed her eyes and she knew what to do, she stood up and shouted.

"STOP THIS!"

All the people stopped and turned to her, "This is Diabolos doing, he wants us to fight each other, don't let anger, despair, and hate take control! fight him, fight his dark influence, FIGHT THE DARKNESS INSIDE YOUR HEART!" They were speechless, Reno was about to talk when Astraea stopped him, "I got this…" she whispered, she took a deep breath for she will do what she always does if she needs to control her emotion, that is to sing her emotion out. She stood straight and put her hands on her chest and closed her eyes and started to sing. (Fate/Zero "Oath Sign" | ENGLISH Ver (AmaLee) )

_"I'll gather these fallen flowers_

_The hope, discarded and broken_

_And I'll join them where they can meet_

_A wish, together I'll set them free,"_

The council members and glaives lowered their weapons as they continued to listen.

_"Only knowing of sadness_

_Never thought I could feel this_

_But now I know what is pure happiness_

_Time stops still, taking your breath away_

_So rip from weakness and escape"_

The fear, despair, and anger of the people around her started to fade away and purple flames started to die down as the evil presence is fading away.

_"If you'd only turn to me and say_

_The words that would give my life meaning_

_Then I could always be – forever be – strong enough"_

The fear was replaced by courage, despair into hope again and anger was replaced by peace and love.

_"Holding up the light within_

_And with no hesitation"_

The purple flames died down and were replaced by her flames. Its bright red glow illuminated the whole room. Astarea hair started to turn red from the root.

_"No hesitating, I'll open my eyes"_

She opened her eyes and it glowed crimson like her flames.

_"Through my heart's breaking, I'll reach out my hand_

_Carrying onward, bearing this miracle"_

After finishing her song the purple flames are nowhere to be seen, Astraea then waved her uninjured hand and her flames form into a small fireball and went toward the ceiling to give the room more light. The whole room went into deep silence. Nobody is talking for everybody is still processing what happened. They all jumped as the door burst open and as five crownsguard and five glaives went inside.

"What happened here!" a glaive with brown hair and blue eyes asked as he went towards his fellow glaive.

"Luche," Nyx greeted him.

"Nyx what happened?" Luche asked as he looked around the room to find it destroyed.

"Long story.." Nyx replied.

"Is that her, the girl on the video?" Luche asked, Nyx just nodded.

"Is everyone okay?" Regis was able to regain his composure as he looked at everybody, the all people were being escorted out by the glaives they pass Astarea, they all stopped at the door and nodded at the king,

"Are you okay Astraea?" Reno asked as she nodded as her hair and eyes returned to normal. He sighed and smiled at her, she smiled back but it all changed when she saw the look of horror in their faces. She noticed that there is a huge shadow looming over her from behind. She spun around to see Diabolos himself, "This is not over child…" he grimaced at her as the glaives summoned their weapons along with the council.

"ASTRAEA!" Noctis is about to go to her but Diabolos flapped his black and red wings and sent everyone back. Astraea spun around and ready to run away from the but dark Astrals grabbed her arm. "I will corrupt you and you will fall just like him," he said while smiling darkly.

"ASTRAEA! GETAWAY FOR HER DIABOLOS!" Reno shouted as he sprinted towards them.

Diabolos looked over at him and smirked, his sharp and pointed tailed raised up behind him it glowed purple. Reno saw this and screamed, "NOOOOO!"

Before Astraea could react the tail plunged into her chest, she screamed in pain. The dark messenger released his hold and flew away.

"Good luck in saving her guardian," he chuckled and he faded away.

"NOOO!" Astraea felt backward and lost consciousness. Reno was able to catch her and cradle her in his arms as he knelt down. "Astraea...please wake up!" he said as he caressed her cheek," Noctis was able to get to them first and he knelt down beside them.

"What happened it's she okay?" he asked.

Reno took off his suit and made a pillow and lay Astraea down on the floor. The king and his shield together with Cor and Aerith went towards them.

"Reno what is happening to her?" Regis asked as he saw Astraea face winced in pain.

Without thinking Reno ripped fabric where the wound is located and saw a huge wound, it was black and oozing black liquid, black tendril started to creep around it.

"NO!" Reno shouted the fear is very visible in his face and his voice.

"Astraea!" Aerith knelt beside her daughter, "What is it Reno?" she asked while holding and caressing her daughter's right hand.

"The…star…. star….." Reno stammered his words.

"WHAT HAPPENING TO HER GUARDIAN!" Noctis shouted, Reno gazed at the prince and said, "It's the starscourge, Diabolos is trying to turn her into a daemon,"

The whole room gasped when they heard this. "So what, can you help her!?" Noctis asked again. Reno hovers his hands towards the wound, "No.." he murmured, "I can't do anything, the only one who could heal her is the oracle," he lowered his head in defeat.

"But Luna is not here, so what? We're gonna just sit here and do nothing!" Noctis clenched both of his hands. "Why is she not waking up?"

"Astraea soul must be corrupted first before he turned her into a daemon, her soul is now wandering the realm of darkness where Diabolos reign, there he will use Astraea fear or desire to lurk her into his hand where he could corrupt and take control of her soul."

"What! So what are we going to do?"

"Nothing, we can do nothing," Reno held her right hand, "We need to wait and see if Astraea will fall or raised up,"

"Is there something we can do Reno?" Regis asked as he knelt down and put a hand into Astraea's forehead. Reno gazed at the king and then back at the fire maiden.

"There is but it is too dangerous.." he trailed off.

"Tell us what we can do!" Noctis demanded.

Reno took a deep breath and gazed at everybody, Noctis's and his friends were standing beside him, Cor and Clarus were behind the king, Reno looked back to see the Kingsglaived with their captain. Reno glared at Drautos for he is the reason why this has happened, Reno's hands turned in to talons again, he wants to kill the captain of the glaive but he remember this all Diabolos doing, if he will attack or kill the captain now it will just cause panic again, and Diabolos would win.

"Reno!" Noctis shouted at him, he turned towards the prince who was now beaming with anger, "Tell us what to do!" he ordered him.

"We can send someone after her,"

"After her?" Aerith asked, as she caressed Astraea's left cheek she is burning up and whimpering from the pain.

"Yes, we can send someone into the dark realm with her and help her escape," Reno said as he gazed towards the king, "The champion of Bahamut is the only one who can do that."

"Alright then, I'll go," Regis stood up.

"No, your Majesty you too old and weak you will not last long down there," Reno turned towards Noctis, "Your Highness, your the only who can save her,"

"No!" the king bellowed as he walked towards the prince and yanked him up, "Noctis will not do such a thing!" Regis held his son beside him.

Reno saw the fear in the King's eyes, yes it will be dangerous for the prince, Noctis could fail and be corrupted as well. Reno stood up and stared into the king's eyes. "We have no choice, Your Majesty, I know it is dangerous but we have no choice, Astraea could lose to Dark Astral if we will not help her,"

Regis tightened the hold on Noctis' arm as he stared back at Reno, "Dad…." Noctis whispered. Regis looked down to see Noctis holding his hand, "I will be okay, I'm your son and Bahamut new champion and King of light, it's my duty to save everyone. So please let me, I want to save her, just like she saved me," Noctis blue eyes showed begging. Regis just gazed at him, he was suppressed by his action, like he was acting like a crown prince for the first time. He released his hold and back away, "Just be careful Noctis...I want you to return."

Noctis nodded at his father, "I promise.."

"Well, then you must prepare" Reno turned to Aerith, "Her rapier where is it?" Aerith handed him the rapier. "Thanks," he said as took the rapier and gave it to the prince, "You will be fighting your fear in there so be careful, Your Highness, if you see Astraea give it to her, it will give both of you a fighting chance,"

"Okay," Noctis grabbed the rapier and added it into his armiger, "I'm ready,"

"Wait! Noct," Prompto grabbed his arm, "You really going? Reno said it will be dangerous," Prompto eyes showed fear.

Noctis smiled at him, "I will be okay Prompto, after all, I'm the king of light, and I promise her to protect her," Noctis held his hand and pried the blonde hand away. "Just wait, we will come out triumphant, after all, we are the warriors of light," he said with confidence.

"Okay then Good Luck in there Noct," the blonde patted him on the back.

"Be careful Your Highness, don't let your guard down there," Ignis bowed towards him.

"Show them the power of the Prince of Lucis Noct," Gladio encouraged him.

"Thanks," Noctis said as he knelt down, "I'm ready to let's do this!"

"Okay then Your Highness," Reno knelt down and grabbed his left hand and put it above Astraea's wound and held Astraea's dagger next to it, "This will hurt prince, I have to infect you with the scourge. After that, you will be transferred to his realm and you have to fight on your own," Reno said as he gazed at his eyes.

"Okay, then let's do it, Astarea is waiting for me," Noctis said with courage in his eyes.

"You really like him," Reno whispered.

Noctis is about to say something when suddenly Reno slashed his palm and touched Astraea's open wound with it, the starscourge quickly crawled up in his injured hand. Noctis stood up and screamed as the pain was unbearable, he held tried to stop the starscourge by squishing his wrist with his other hand.

"Noctis!" he could hear his father's voice as he shut his eyes closed. He fell down to his knees and lost consciousness. Reno was able to catch the prince and lay him beside Astraea. He took a deep breath and whispered, "Then we wait...this is their first fight as the warriors of light," Regis went and knelt beside his son, and held his other hand, "Good luck my son.." he muttered under his breath.

**…**

Noctis sapphire eye sprung wide open only to see nothing but darkness and the feeling floating in the air. "Astra!" he bellowed as he stood up, he was surprised that he was able to do so he looked down only to see darkness. He heard a faint voice in the distance, "ASTRA!" he screamed and started to run towards the direction of the voice. He didn't know how long he was running but he knew he was not going anywhere so he stopped and gazed around "Astarea!" he shouted her name again, he tried to summon his sword but nothing appeared. He cursed under his breath as he started to feel hopeless and fear started to creep into his heart. When he saw a black portal(Kingdomheart portal of Darkness) open before him, even with the darkness around it, the portal was still visible. The prince took a step back, as the portal gave an ominous and evil presence. He was about to take another step when a scream was heard from the inside of the portal. It was familiar to him, "ASTRA!" he shouted and went sprinted towards the portal.

**... **

Back at the council room, they were able to bring an alternative light source as Astraea flames went out with her. Clarus brought a chair for Regis to sit down near the two fallen warriors. While Reno and Aerith decided not to move and sat on their knees on Astraea side. Prompto, Ignis, and Gladio are beside them sitting and looking over Noctis, waiting anxiously for both of them to wake up. 15 minutes had already passed, the council members did not leave even if the king gave them permission to leave to tend to their wounds.

"We will not leave Your Majesty, this is not their fight alone, this is our fight too," the councilwomen said.

"Very well then, but please let the Crownsguard tend to your wounds," Regis replied as he gestured to Cor. Cor ordered his men to get a first aid kit and asked for additional backup to guard the Citadel, Drautos did the same with the kingsglaive. 10 minutes later the Citadel went into full lockdown as several Crownsguards took their place to guard Citadel while the top glaives went inside the council room to guard the Royal Family and the council. An eerie silence filled the whole room as the council member returned to their seat and waited.

"Reno your wings," Aerith said as he touches his shoulder, "We need to tend to it,"

The guardian just shrugged his shoulder, "Don't worry about me Aerith, I'm fine," he flapped his wings open revealing how burned it was. He bit his lips to stop him from reacting from it with the flash of red light. It disappeared but it left a few blooded feathers in its wake.

"Are you sure?" Aerith asked him again.

He turned to her and smiled "Yes, I'm okay, just pray for Astraea to win, that's the only thing we can do," he returned his gaze to his master and held her hand. "Please Astraea, don't lose…"

Another five minutes back, Mecia and Claudia returned from the kitchen with glasses of water to drink. All of them took one glass and thanked the maids.

"Reno what is happening now?" Regis asked from his seat.

"Diabolos is now looking for their weakness, their fears and desire to use it to corrupt them looks like he was a problem looking for it. A weak heart can be turned within minutes after being infected by the scourge. Looks like they are fighting a good fight," Reno said as he brushed the sweat away from the fire maiden's forehead.

"So they are winning?" Prompto asked nervously.

"No," reno replied flatly as he turned towards the blonde, "Their fight is only just begun,"

Regis stood up from his chair, "Let take them in the infirmary Reno,"

"It's very dangerous to move them, Your Majesty, we might hurt them and it might spread the starscourge,"

Regis took a deep breath and about to say something when the purple flames burst from the sphere again. They all jumped away from it, the glaives summoned their weapon ready to attack. But the flames just started to show a video.

"Reno," Regis he gazed towards the flames

"It's him, he's showing us what is happening inside his realm," Reno explained while glaring at the purple flames.

Regis just tightened his grip in his cane for he knows he can't do anything but to watch the events unfold. Hearing this the glaives lowered their weapons and continued to watch the flames.

_Again the video showed the first-person point of view, the person was laying on the ground he lifted his right hand to see it's covered with blood he looked beside him to see a person lying lifeless beside him. The person then looked up to see a daemon, a Marilith, the half-snake, and half women. It looked down on the person._

"Marilith.." Reno gently lay Astraea hand on her stomach as he stood up. They all looked at him, "It's the prince memory, the time went he was attacked by Diabolos's daemon,"

Regis glared at the Daemon as he remembered the night when he also almost lost his son but he was able to save him in time.

_The video continued as Daemon tilted her head towards the prince and growled. That when several swords stuck the daemon out of nowhere. The video showed how The King defeated the Marilith and rescued his son. The video faded to black and showed a different memory._

**…**

_Noctis opened his eyes only to be greeted by the face of a young Lunafreya. _

"Luna?" Noctis whispered the Oracle name, "Luna was so glad to see you again!" he exclaimed but he was surprised that nothing came out of his mouth and that he could not move, the two of them were sitting on the edge of a bed, looking down at the cosmogony book.

_"The crystal was gifted to mankind that we might know lasting prosperity," Lunafreya gently said as she touched the edge of the book._

_"If the crystal belongs to everyone, how come only Lucis gets to use it?" Noctis was surprised to hear his own voice. _**_"What is this? why can't I move?_****_"_** he questioned himself.

_"The king of Lucis does not simply use the Crystal, they also protect it," Luna answered._

_**"It's this a memory?"**_ Noctis thought as he remembered their conversation, this the time when he and his father went to Tenebrae to seek healing for his wounds. The very first time he met Lady Lunafreya.

_"Wait, so my dad's guarding it?"_

_"Yes,"_

_"I had no idea" he felt his body leaned on the bed, "Yes this is definitely a memory," knowing what is happening, Noctis just stayed silent and watched._

_"The crown the King of Light is the calling of the Crystal, and keeping the Crystal safe falls to the line of Lucis,"_

_"And I'm the chosen one?"_

_"Yes, only the True King anointed by the Crystal, can purge our star of its scourge,"_

_"You really think I can do that?" the young prince said while rubbing his right knee._

_"As Oracle, I will see to it," to aid the King is the Oracle calling,"_

_"Then I guess I can do it, I won't let you down," the young prince smiled._

_"I known you won't"_

**...**

Back at the council room they could see and hear everything even the Prince thought. Regis took a step forward to get a closer look.

"What is this Reno?"

The guardian walked beside the king, "It's Diabolos doing, he doing this to find the prince's weakness, just like what he did to Astraea, by diving down into the prince memory,"

Regis looked at Reno with worried eyes and returned his gaze back to his son and back to the video. They can't do anything just like before they can only watch what is going to happen next. The sphere lit up again and showed the point of view of Noctis.

**...**

_He and Luna were playing in an open field. Luna is pushing Noctis's wheelchair towards their parents who are standing a few feet away. That's when the empire attacked. The attack was unpredicted the army of Tenebrae did not have a chance and was defeated, Regis went towards his son but was attacked by General Glauca, he used his Armiger to fight the General, he summoned his sword and sent the general flying towards a tree, after he ran towards his son and carried him to safety. With the prince on one hand and Lady Lunafreya on the other hand, they ran for their lives. They could hear someone calling Regis's name for help, but the king had no choice but to run to save the life of his son and his. They were running away from the army when Lunafreya looked back and saw the army getting closer without second thought Luna let go of the King's hand. _

_"Lunafreya!" Regis shouted as he looked back but kept on running, with the army getting close he had no choice but to continue running._

_"LUNA!" Noctis reaches his hand towards the oracle, the prince screams echoed as the video fades to black._

**...**

The king gritted his teeth as he cursed himself for not saving Lunafreya and his brother back then and leaving Tenebrae in the hands of the empire. He was about to open his mouth but he stopped as the video showed Noctis floating in endless darkness.

"Noctis," Regis said as he watched.

**...**

"LUNA!" The prince screamed as he bolted upright and continued to float. Noctis clutched his hearts as he composed himself. That when he heard laughter, he spun around to see where it was coming from.

"The king of Light," the voice echoes all around him. "You let your Oracle down... what happened to the promise you made,"

Noctis can hear his own voice as it echoes around him. "Then I guess I can do it, I won't let you down,"

"So much for the king of Light.." the voice chuckled. "The oracle trusted you but you let her down.",

"No, I did not! I tried to save Luna but… but…." Noctis trailed off.

"But you still abandoned her and left her to suffer," The disembodied voice chuckled again, this time louder it hurt the prince's ears that he had to cover his ears with his hands. As the voice faded, Noctis was able to regain himself,

_**"No, I did try to save Luna, I did everything I could.."**_ Noctis said it himself that when he saw another portal appeared before him, without giving it a second thought he walked towards it.

_When he opened his eyes, he was now standing in front of a mirror and his advisor hovering around him, examining his suit and tie. _

_**"Another memory?"**_ he thought as he continued to watch.

"Do I have to attend this party?" the young Prince whined as he slouched his shoulders.

"Yes, Your Highness as the crown prince you need to," Ignis said as he arranged the prince tie.

Noctis remembers this, he was 12 years old, the party that his young self is referring to is the opening of a new hotel, The CAELUM VIA Hotels & Resorts. Noctis always hated attending parties, he felt he was not welcome there but he had no choice, for his prince after all.

_"The King is going to be there, you haven't talked to him for a while right?" Ignis asked as do the final touches of the suit._

_"Yes, he is always too busy," Noctis said as he walked away from the mirror._

_"He is the king, after all, maybe this time it will give you a chance to talk to your father, and tell him about your first day in junior high" his advisor followed him towards the door._

_"Maybe you're right, let go." Noctis smiled, Ignis nodded and opened the door for him._

_At the party, they were on the rooftop of the hotel. It was amazing the rooftop compose of three floors. Two grand staircases are located on both sides and the huge circular prism aquarium can be found on the top floor. Noctis is leaning on the railing of the top floor and looking down at the lower floor to find his father, the king talking to the guests. The night is already coming to an end, but he did not have the chance to talk to his dad. He felt Ignis walked beside him._

_"Care to drink anything, Your highness?"_

_Noctis turned to him, "No, I just want to go home,"_

_"Really? You have not talked to the king yet." Ignis asked._

_"It's okay, there's another time we can talk after I have school tomorrow," Noctis said as he walked down the stairs._

_"Alright then, but I must inform the king first,"_

_"Okay, I wait here,"_

_Ignis bowed down and went to the king. While waiting, Noctis leaned back and crossed his arm at one of the pilar below a terrace overlooking a pool. _

_"Why am I here anyway…" Noctis murmured to himself as his gazed dart across the whole party, during the whole party nobody did ever greet him or acknowledge that he was there, "I don't belong here anyway.." he whispered he was about to walk away when he heard his name being mentioned. He looked up to see three teenagers about his age, two girls and one boy. He does not want to eavesdrop on their conversation so he walked away but stopped when he heard Lunafreya's name being mentioned._

_"Have you heard the Lady-Lunafreya has become the new Oracle?" a blond female asked her friends._

_"Yes, I heard that apparently she is the youngest Oracle in history," the female with brown hair added._

_"That's awesome, but it's sad because they are still being controlled by the empire," the boy said in husk tone._

_"Yes, I know, It's very sad, why did the king ever leave Lady-Lunafreya and Prince Ravus in the first place?" the blonde asked._

_"Well apparently the king has no choice but to save himself and the life of the prince." the male answered._

_"Really... that's unfortunate.." the brunette said, "And about the prince have you heard that he does not have any magical powers? And always kept to himself, I have a friend who is a classmate of the prince. She said to me that the prince is always by himself and will not talk to them."_

_"Really does he think we are beneath him because he is the prince?" the boy crossed his arms. "If he does not have any magical power how can he protect us, we need someone who is ready for anything. He must show himself worthy after all his our future king, we don't need him slacking off," _

_"Hey! stop that!" the blonde hit her friend on the shoulder, "Someone might hear you so be quiet!"_

_The female was right, someone might hear them and that someone was Noctis, he heard everything, Noctis hands turned into a fist his anger is showing not for them but for himself, after all, they were a right, after the daemon attacked Noctis have not been able to conjure up any elemental powers, unlike his father and his sword fighting skill are not that perfect. He was frustrated that he remembered the time he left Luna at the hand of the Empire. The friend continued their conversation but they stopped when they heard Ignis called the Prince Name._

_"Prince Noctis, the car is waiting for us," Ignis said as he stopped in front of him._

_The friend gasped and looked down to see the prince. Noctis looked up to them, they panicked and went away in a hurry. _

_"It's there something wrong, Noct?" Ignis asked as he saw the frown on his face._

_The prince turned to him and smiled, "Nothing, let's go home.."_

_"Are you sure?" Ignis asked again as the prince passed him._

_"Positive, come on let go home, I got some assignment to do," _

_Ignis knew something is off even if he wants to ask the prince, Noctis will not say anything, after all his very secretive and elusive about his feelings or emotions. So Ignis decided to drop the subject and followed the prince. _

The memory stopped and the prince is back again in the dark realm.

"See prince, they don't want you, you're not the king of light. You're just a weak and helpless child, you will never be king, you will just disappoint them as you always did," Diabolos mocked him.

Noctis tried to act brave but Diabolos's words are getting into him. "You're not fooling me, Daemon! You're just saying that, bring Astraea back!" Noctis shouted in the darkness.

"Hahahaha," Diabolos laughed. "You amuse me, King of Light, let see if your light is still shining after this," Diabolos voice faded as another portal opened before Noctis. he stopped for a bit and gazed at the portal. He even if he is showing courage deep inside Noctis is scared of what might lay ahead but he does not have a choice so the champion of Bahamut took a deep breath and walked towards the portal.

**…**

Back at the council room, Regis was surprised by the memory of his son, he never thought that Noctis had that kind of thought and been through all of that, he looked around to see the prince advisor, future shield and his best friend has the same expression, the look of guilt. Ignis clenched his hand into a fist as the prince advisor, he should have known that but he is always too focused on training him to be the next King that he does not notice that Noctis is hurting. Gladio and Prompto had the same sentiment, they lowered their head down and looked at Noctis sleeping form. The video continued and showed Noctis's memory again.

**…**

_The prince was in the throne room behind him was Ignis, they were looking up at the king._

_"Your Majesty," Noctis bowed his head down._

_"Prince Noctis, what brings you here, is there something wrong? Regis asked._

_Noctis shook his head, "No your Majesty, I'm fine,"_

_"And how about your school do you have any problem blending in?"_

_Noctis gulped it's his second term in eighth grade but he does not have friends, real friends to be exact. For he knows they will just befriend him because he is the prince. But he won't tell his father that, the king more important thing to do rather than helped him make friend, so he smiled and said, "No, Your Majesty, school is just perfect, I'm happy to tell you that I'm top of my class,"_

_"It's so I'm glad to hear that my son, so what brings you here then?"_

_Noctis unclenched and clenched his hands as he stood and looked at his father, he opened his mouth and closed it again and looked down. Regis noticed this so he stood up from his chair and walked down to his son._

_"Noctis is there something wrong?" Regis asked him and stopped in front of him, Clarus was not far behind. The prince looked at his father's eyes. The king's eyes are looking at him worriedly. Noctis knew what he was going to ask his father next will not favor him but he does not have a choice, so he took a deep breath and said._

_"Dad, I want to train as a Crownsguard, I want to know how to use a sword, I know you are worried about me and my wound but I will be okay, so please let me train.." _

_Regis looked surprised after he been very protective on his son after the attacked of the Marilith and the attempt of their lives on Tenebrae, Regis never let Noctis do something alone, he even assigned Crownsguards to guard the Prince school, even with the prince disapproval, after all, he needs to protect him always and keep him away from any danger. But the prince is right he needs to learn how to protect himself so he decided to grant his request._

_"It's that you want my son?" Noctis nodded. "Okay then, Mr. Scientia, please look for a suitable trainer for the prince."_

_"As you order, Your Majesty," Ignis bowed down._

_"Excuse me, Your Majesty?" Clarus walked over and they all turned to him._

_"If you're looking for a trainer for the prince, my son would be perfect for the job, after all, Gladiolus will be the prince future shield, it will help get to known it each other,"_

_Regis patted him on the shoulder, "That a perfect Clarus, so where is your son now?"_

_"I can call him, your Majesty," Clarus said as he pulled out his phone._

_"Are you sure you want it, Noctis, it will be hard for you to focus on your study?" Regis returned his attention to his son._

_"I'm okay with it Dad, I really want it, thank you for accepting my request," Noctis bowed down again._

_Regis smiled patted Noctis on the head, "Just be careful Noctis and don't go overboard," _

_Noctis just nodded and smiled at the King. Suddenly a bright light blinded Noctis, when he opened his eyes he was now standing in front of his shield and holding a wooden sword the two were inside the training room. Gladio held his sword and pointed it towards the prince, Noctis did a guard stance and ready himself._

_"Be ready, Your Highness," Gladio said as he stepped forward._

_Before Noctis could say a word or move, Gladio went for an attack. It caught Noctis off guard and the wooden sword collided with his chest and he was sent tumbling down. _

_"You need to pay attention, never let you guard down, now stand up!" _

_Noctis did what he said and attacked again without thinking, he raised his sword and attacked the shield. Gladio just did a side step as your prince passed him and he hit him on the back, Noctis fell forward but he was able to catch himself._

_"Again!" Gladio said in a stern voice._

Back in the council room, Prompto winced as Noctis went down the 3rd time.

"Ouch, that gotta hurt,"

_The video continues Noctis is trying his best to hit Gladio but the shield kept deflecting his attacks when Noctis went to attack again he sidesteps and hit the prince in the back, this time the prince fell flat on his face._

_Gladio held a hand towards the fallen prince._

_Noctis just swiped his hand away and stood on his own, this earned glare from Gladio, the future shield though the prince is just mad because he lost and just acted like a spoiled brat._

_"If you keep acting like that then you never learn how to fight!"_

_Noctis just shrugged his shoulder and threw his sword._

_"Hey, we are not finished!" Gladio shouted._

_The memory stopped and faded to black._

**...**

'Wow, Gladio, you really did train him hard,' Prompto said while watching the video. "You know that Noctis is like that because of his leg right?"

"What?" Gladio suddenly turned to him, Prompto was surprised to see the bewildered look he got from the shield.

"You really did not notice it?"

"Notice what?" Ignis asked.

"Well, ever since I saw Noctis at school, I noticed that he was a limp of his right leg,

I thought you knew."

"No I don't, The prince never did tell me about it, he never complained about it too," Ignis said as he gazed down at Noctis.

Reno stared at Prompto, the blonde shivered and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong?"

The guardian just shook his head, "No," he smiled at him, "You're truly the prince's best friend, _for a friend is someone who can see the truth and pain even when you're fooling everyone else."_

"Oh, Thanks" Prompto blushed and lowered his head down, "I will do everything for my friend,"

Reno then turned toward the shield and smiled sadly, "Do blame yourself, Shield,"

"What are you saying?" Gladio crossed his arms.

"Just like four-eyes here, you two are giving negative emotion and Diabolos might use it against the prince.,"

Gladio's expression softened as he put his arms down.

"Why would his highness hide his pain and not tell us,"

Reno turned towards the advisor and sighed, "Of course the prince will never say that you always been telling his to act like a prince, and because of the responsibility you kept putting on him, he does not have a choice to follow it even if he does not like it or he hurting," Reno lowered his gaze towards the sleeping warriors. "Just like Astarea, they don't want to let anyone down, they will do everything they can to prove to us that they can do it but deep inside they are hurting or even scared." he paused, "And we don't notice at all," he gazed around, "I known what you feeling now shield," he looked toward future shield, Gladio just raised an eyebrow to him. "You feeling guilty and even mad at yourself right now, I knew the feeling, after all, I did fail not once but twice, I failed to notice my masters feelings, Vincent and Astraea Izunia because I'm blinded and to focus the bigger picture that I never noticed that they are hurting. For the past 30 years, I kept blaming myself for what I have done and I have not done, but I learned that it will never change anything, instead of beating yourself up, be positive, don't let negative emotions show, you just showing your weakness. We just need to be there for them and support them when they are at their lowest and help them overcome it, that responsibility that falls to us, the responsibility of a friend, to be there in every step of the way," Reno smiled, knelt down and held Astraea's hand.

"Reno is right, we should not dwell in the past," Regis said and gazed around, "We should now focus on protecting them and supporting our champions. We don't need to force them or make them do what we want, we just need to be there for them,"

Reno chuckled, "You are truly a remarkable King, Your Majesty, The founder King will be proud,"

Regis smiled at him, "Thank you, guardian, so what now? What is happening to my son,"

Reno looked at the purple flames, "Look like Diabolos found the prince weakness, his fear of disappointing people and failing as a prince," after saying that right on queue the flames started to show Noctis floating again in the endless darkness.

**...**

"See prince, you are a failure, you can't save everyone. Just accept it and walk away," Diabolos' voice echoes in the darkness.

"I won't listen to you Diabolos," Noctis waves his hand shouting at nothing as he spun around.

"You don't believe me? Why not ask your friends.." the dark Astral chuckled then a silhouette of a person appeared behind the prince. He spun around and his heart dropped to see the young oracle standing before him.

"Noctis, Why?" Luna asked with tears in her eyes.

"Luna?" Noctis held his right hand towards her, "Why are you here?"

"Why did you leave me, you said you never let me down, because of you my mother is dead, our kingdom is no more, you no the king of light, I hate you!"

Noctis stopped breathing as he heard those words.

**...**

"What is happening? Why would Lady Lunafreya say such a thing?" Prompto asked nervously as he saw how hurt Noctis was.

"It's not the oracle, it Diabolos one of his daemons, like I said the dark Astral will use person weakness to defeat and corrupt them,"

"What that cheati-" Prompto could not finish his sentence when he saw himself appeared behind Noctis.

**…**

"Prompto?" Noctis turned around to face his friend.

The fake Prompto smirked at him, "You know Noct, I just be-friended you because I felt bad for you and I want to be popular after all being the prince best friend will do that, but I never did like you, after all, you never did notice back then,"

"No Prompto, don't say that," the prince started to doubt.

Another silhouette appeared beside the prince. It was Ignis, the fake ignis glared at the prince. The prince stiffened up as he saw the advisor's glaring eyes. "I wasted my whole life for you Noctis, I spent my whole childhood tending you, for what? a failure like you, you will never be king!" Ignis chuckled.

"You don't mean that right Ignis?," Noctis backed away only to block by Gladio.

"The fake shield smirked at him, "Your nothing! You're no King of mine, and I will never be your shield, your weak and hopeless, just die already!" the daemon summoned a sword and attacked Noctis, the prince was able rolled out the way and stepped backward.

Noctis tried summoning his sword. He was surprised that he was able to summon it, it held it towards Gladio, his eyes widened to see his father standing where the future shield was.

"What are you doing my son? pointing your weapon to your father like that, did I give you everything you want and this is your way of thanking me, what an ungrateful little child.." The fake king looked down at him, "Your mother died because of you… I never did ask the Astral for a weak son like yourself.."

The champion of Bahamut lowered his sword, "No...dad… I.. will...never…." Noctis stammered his words as he backed away from them.

All five laughed at seeing him like that and all of them summoned a sword and walked slowly towards him as the prince stood still.

**…**

"Noct! Do listen to them, they are all fake!" Prompto shouted at the flames.

"Noctis!" Regis shouted as he saw his son just standing there.

"Come on Noct, you're smarter than that, don't listen to them!" Ignis said under his breath.

"NOCT! Fight back!" Gladio shouted and slammed his hands on the table.

All of them are giving their encouraging comments but the Prince can't hear it and continues to stand still.

"Reno, why can't Noctis hear us?" the blonde asked him. "Let us help him please!"

"We can't do anything," Reno stood and glared at the flames, "That Diabolos realm his power is limitless in there I can not even go there myself,"

"So what I'm just going to stand here and watch Noctis die!" Gladio shouted as his hand turned into a fist.

Reno could not answer the future shield, they all gasped when the five attacked Noctis at the same time, Noctis just shield himself in his arm and sword when a blue light appeared and barrier came and shielded the Prince. When the sword collided with the barrier it sent the fakes flying a few feet away.

"I will not let you hurt my master!" The small fox-like creature shouted as it appeared out of thin air.

"Wait, I know you, you're…" Noctis whispered as he looked down at the creature in front of him.

The fox-like creature turned to him and bowed its head, its ears twitched happily.

"Nice to see you again Master, It's been a long time," she greeted the prince with a cheerful voice.

"Carbuncle," Noctis said while smiling he lowered himself and Carbuncle ran up to his shoulder and circle her tail around the prince's neck. "As promised I will protect you, my master." Carbuncle horn lit up and shined a bright light. The fake winched at it and showed their true form Mindflayers. The daemon hissed at them. Carbuncle pale blue fur gave a soft glow against the darkness around them. Carbuncle turned towards the raven prince, "Noctis they are not real! your friends and loved ones will never say that!" Carbuncle's horn light up again.

**…**

Back at the council room, "Nice timing Carbuncle," Reno whispered they all turned to him, he smiled, "It's one of Bahamut messenger, looks like she is the Prince guardian,"

**...**

The Mindflayers were caught off guard and shielded themselves by the sudden light. Noctis turned around and saw in the sky his memory.

_It showed Lady Lunafreya sending her young dog Umbra and Pryna to the Crown City. Noctis, 9 years old was alone in the garden and crying when the two dogs appeared. At first, the prince was confused but when he saw the notebook attached to the black dog he remembered that they are the oracle's dogs. Noctis took the red notebook and opened it. He saw a Sylleblossom being held by a candle seal and on the other side of the page was Luna's message._

_Dear Prince Noctis,_

_I hope this letter found you well, you must be worried about me, but please don't fret. I'm okay and will always be, I heard from the high messenger that you are now blaming yourself I beg you you please don't. I never blame you and nor hate you for leaving, that was my decision as Oracle I need to protect you, my prince. I know we will meet up again until then please don't let your light die down and keep moving forwards but don't overdo it okay Noct?_

_I will always pray for you. _

_From Lunafreya, _

_The young prince smiled and touched the Sylleblossom._

"I remembered that day, I was blaming myself because for I left Luna, but after I got that messenger I felt relieved and happy," Noctis turned his head to his guardian.

Carbuncle smiled, "Lady Luna never loses her faith in you Noctis, you two will always be friends."

_The memory continued starting that day the Prince and the Princess kept messaging each other by using the notebook. _

...

Back at the council room. "Yeah! That right Noct we are always there for you!" Prompto shouted in glee and he knelt down and held the prince's hand.

**…**

_Noctis' memory continued a year passed he recovered from his wound and kept on being reclusive and won't talk to anybody except his advisor that was Ignis. His memory faded and was replaced by Prompto's and it showed Prompto's memory, the blonde kept bumping into the prince and wanted to talk to him but he lacked courage. It showed the time he saved a dog who is Pryna and a letter he received from Lunafreya. Lunafreya is worried about Noctis and she wants Prompto to help the prince and to be his friend. _

"Luna knows about me?" Noctis asked as he stared at the memory.

"Yes," Carbuncle nodded, "That why she asked Prompto to be your friend and gave him the courage to talked to you,"

_Prompto's memory continues, one day in middle school. Prompto has the courage to talk to him. He was standing alone in the back of the school and the young and chubby Prompto went toward him._

_"Hello prince! Would you like to be friends wi-" Prompto said while trying to step over a cone but it caught his back leg and sent him tumbling down._

Noctis laughed, "I remembered that was the first time Prompto had the courage to talk to me." He kept looking at the memory of their exchange and showed how the blonde trained himself to be thinner so that the prince would be friends with him.

"Wow I never thought Prompto could do that, and he did that for me?" Noctis asked when he saw the memory of them during the first day of high school, it happened one and a half months ago.

_"Hey there, Prince Noctis" Prompto patted him on the back and cheerfully greeted the prince._

_"Huh?" he turned towards the blonde._

_"I'm Prompto, Nice to meet you!" the blonde pointed his thumb at himself and smiled._

_Noctis looked down at him from head to foot, "Don't I know you?"_

_"He should have never done that, after all, I like him before even his fat," Noctis smiled at the memory. _

_Prompto just smiled at the question and walked away. Noctis followed him and patted him on the back._

**…**

Back at the council room, Prompto lowered his head down to hide his cheeks for his blushing from embarrassment. Reno knocked his knuckles at the blonde head to make him look up.

"What?" Prompto sheepishly asked, still blushing.

"Looks like your light and voice have reached the prince. His highness is very blessed to have a friend like you,"

"Oh, thanks, I will always be there for Noctis," Prompto said as he gazed down at the prince.

**…**

Carbuncle jumped from his shoulder and looked up, "You're not alone Noctis, you always had people around you who loved and took care of you, you just too focused and becoming something you're not, look,"

_It's a memory of Ignis and Noctis, Noctis age 12. There were inside the palace library, the prince whined and lowered his head down. _

_Ignis sighed, "Stand up," he said while closing a book._

_"Where are we going? I still have books to read and royal studies," Noctis asked._

_"Just follow me.." Ignis said as he walked away._

_It showed that Ignis was the one who brought the prince in the Arcade in the first place to let him play, he showed Noctis how to play the games and shared a fun day with him._

"Your Advisor might have been training for the future but he still knew you still a kid that you need to have fun," Carbuncle said. "So act like one Your Highness, don't focus your energy in just training and studying,"

_Another memory was being shown it's his memory of him how he save Gladio little sister and how he took the blame and their training even if he kept tumbling down after giving up he went to sit down Gladio took a seat beside him and thank him in saving his sister and gave him encouragement, Noctis asked if he can train him which Gladio quicking accepted they fist bump and went back on training._

"See Noct, they accepted you and your not weak you just need more training that all,"

**...**

"So you two are not that boring and serious after all," Reno stood up and patted Ignis and Gladio on the back. The two turned to the guardian. He smiled at them, "Continue that, the prince needed that more than learning and training, he needs all you all to be his friends,"

Prompto stood up and walked to them, the trio gazed at each other and smiled.

"We promise we will be right here for Noctis," they all answered in unison.

"Good then, so the prince is in good hands," Reno gave them a thumbs up.

**...**

Back at the dark realm, after seeing those memories, Noctis's fear and doubt faded.

"Your right Carbuncle thank you for reminding me," Noctis smiled at his guardian.

"Always remember your Father is always there for you even if he does not often show it."

Carbuncle showed how Regis did not leave Noctis's side when he was attacked by the daemon and went into a coma. Regis is the one who gave him a piece of Bahamut crystal in the shape of her.

"The king is the one who brought us together, prince, that is why I was able to help you escape that endless dream of yours." (Final Fantasy XV Platinum Demo)

After waking up Regis stayed At Noctis' side and read his bedtime stories. (A King's Tale Final Fantasy xv). His memory faded to black.

"And she is waiting for you…." the guardian trailed off, "Astraea is waiting for you Noct, remember your promise to her."

Another memory came up, the memory of what happened a day ago. Their conversation inside dinner and how he gave her encouragement after she said nobody wants her back in Galahad.

_"If nobody cares to accept you and wants you in this world, accepts yourself and you will see that you don't need them and their selfish ideas" _Noctis smiled and held his hand up, "I will be your friend, Astraea, I promise I going to protect you,"

Astraea smiled and shook his hand, "Thanks Noct, I will count on you,"

Noctis tightened his grip on his sword, as the memory faded and darkness surrounded him again, this time he was ready for it.

"Luna... Prompto…Ignis… Gladio… Dad... Astraea... Thank you…"

He spun around and glared at the Mindflayers. He waved his left hand and a flash of blue light Astarea rapier appeared.

"You are not fooling me again this time Diabolos! All my friends are with me, Luna, Prompto, Ignis, Gladio, my Dad, and Astraea, we will defeat you!" he shouted suddenly Astraea's rapier burst into flames and surrounded him in a ring of fire, it made the daemons winced in pain. He looked down at the rapier and he felt Astraea's flames he smiled.

"Astraea… don't worry I'm going to save you…" He prepared himself and pointed the blades at the daemon.

"I'm going to help you Noctis!" Carbuncle stood up as her horn glowed bright red.

Noctis looked down and nodded. "Ok then let go!" He launched forward was able to defeat the daemons with ease with his newfound power and courage with the help of his guardian. That when the darkness was dispelled and a huge black door stood in front of him.

"Astraea is behind that door, Noct," Carbuncle said as she jumped up in his shoulder.

"Okay Let go! Wait for me Astra I will save you!" Noctis declared as he opened the door and stepped in.

**…**

Back at the Citadel, the people cheered seeing the prince was victorious, Prompto jumped up and down and was yelling words of encouragement. Ignis and Gladio were smiling at each other. Their hard work was worth it, Regis took a deep sigh of relief and looked down to see the starscourge fading in Noctis hand. The prince was able to fight the darkness and his weakness and was victorious in his first trial being the warrior of light and the king of Light.

"I'm proud of you my son," Regis whispered.

But all their excitement stopped when they heard and saw Astarea trashing and whining in pain as the starscourge spread.

The sphere burst into bigger flames and showed darkness again and Astraea floating unconscious in the middle of it.

"This is not over yet," Reno murmured, "Noctis please my master,"

* * *

_**A/N:**__** I**_ don't know the gender of Carbuncle after all it has never been specified in the Final Fantasy games. So for this story, she is a girl. Some of the Noctis memory is from the game and the anime and some are made by me.

Lyrics and song credit to AmaLee...Love her!

THANK YOU !Hope you enjoy this and have a wonderful day!✩

Next chapter _The Dark Astral And Weakness of One's Heart part 2_


	17. Chapter 15

**The Dark Astral And The Weakness of One's Heart part 2**  
_"The heart may be weak and sometimes it might even give in but I've learned that deep down there's a light that never goes out." - Kingdom Heart -Tetsuya Nomura_

* * *

Astraea suddenly woke up and was able to stand up and look around. "Where am I?" her eyes darted across the darkness. "Reno….?" she turned around only to see darkness, "Mother!" she shouted, "Your Majesty!" she started to panic, "Noctis!" she spun around to see a silhouette, "Noct?" Astraea was about to walk over but she stopped when the silhouette became bigger and bigger. Her eyes widened to see Diabolos, the daemon grinned at her. She backed away but suddenly black tendrils burst out from the ground and wrapped her legs and her arms.

"Astraea Lumina…." Diabolos's voice sent shivers down to her spine as she tried to break free, the dark Astrals slowly hovered towards her, his giant bat wings beating slowly he stopped in front of her, "Are you afraid of me child?" Astraea was visibly scared, she cannot stop herself from trembling in his presence. Seeing this Diabolos chuckled darkly. "It's okay to be a scared child…" he mocked. Astraea breath became heavy and faster as her eyes and hair started to flicker.

"The Infernian is wrong to choose you, Astraea…" he laughed. "You no champion, you are just a scared little girl…." his laughter echoes around them.

Astraea closed her eyes and took a deep breath, _**"It's not time to be scared Astraea, you can do it! believe in yourself," **_she thought, _**"You're a warrior of light! FIGHT BACK!"**_ her eyes suddenly snapped open. It glowed a deep red as her hair turned burst into flames. "I'm not scared of you Diabolos! You can show my fear! I will not back down!"

Diabolos's eyes widened in a split second then it sharpened at her and he chuckled darkly. "Dear child, I know your fear is nothing to you but your…." his tail raised her chin up so that he could gaze at her crimson eyes. "But your desire is stronger than your fear.." he grinned, "I can show it to you…..no…...I can grant it to you…." before Astraea could react the tail plunged into her chest again and her scream pitched the darkness.

**…**

Back at the council room, the whole room gasped as they saw what was happening. they saw how Astraea head slumped down the pupils her eyes disappeared and became vacant and dulled. Diabolos's tail pulled out and Astraea fell on the ground, Diabolos wings spread wide as he chuckled deeply. He then turned to his side looking at someone, they all knew that he was looking at them through the purple flames. "Tried to save her this time guardian," his laughter faded with him.

"DIABOLOS!" Reno shouted as Astraea body started to be engulfed by the black tendril and sink into darkness and the video turned pitch black.

In the physical word Astraea started to thrash in pain, the starscourge started to spread the black tendrils appeared and crawled into her neck and down to shoulders.

"Astraea!" Aerith cried as she saw her daughter in pain. She was about to reach a hand towards the wound but Reno grabbed her hand in midair.

"STOP! You can be infected with the scourge if you do that!" Reno said as he pulled their hands away.

"Reno, she in pain I need to-"

"I know but you will just endanger yourself, just pray that Astraea will win just like the prince."

Aerith wanted to protest but the guardian is right, she will just endanger herself and the people around her, so she just backed away and put her hands on her chest and prayed to the Astrals to seek help.

Reno lowered his gaze on his master, seeing her whimpering made his blood boil. He just wants to go to where she is and save her, but alas he can't. He bit down on his lips and clenched his hands to stop him from losing control and burning everything his body started to tremble in anger. He slowly reached his hand and squeezed her right hand, "I can't do anything, sorry…. I can't save you... I'm trying to...but Diabolos is too strong, I can't…" Reno's eyes started to tear up, his tears falling on her wound, his tears having little or no effect as the starscourge kept on spreading. "Astraea please fight it,"

"Reno"

He looked up to see the king looking down at him, his right hand on his shoulder comforting him. "Don't lose hope, Noctis is still out there and he will save her, they will come out safe and defeat Diabolos."

Seeing the king's eyes full of concern but courage at the same time. He started to calm down and he took a deep breath and nodded at the king, "You're right, Your Majesty, let us not lose hope." he stood and glared at the flames. "Show how strong you are Fire Maiden, don't let him win!"

The king looked over his council and the glaives, "Let us help them by praying to the Astrals," they all nodded and started to pray.

A burst of sinister laughter came out the flames, "Those are useless now…"

"Diabolos!" Reno hissed and slammed his hands on the table.

"Watch carefully, guardian, I will corrupt her and make her mine.." Diabolos's laughter echoes inside the destroyed room. Reno's finger turned into talons, he dug and clawed the wood as his haired glowed bright red just like his master, his blue-eyes glared daggers at the flames ready to attack. The people inside the room can feel his anger, his body glowing red and radiating heat. Nobody wants to talk or stop him as his talons burst into flames and set the table on fire. The shield stepped in and put a hand to Reno's shoulder, he suddenly turned towards the shield and saw the concern on his eyes.

"Reno..you know Astraea more than anyone, she will win this, she needs our support not our anger right? You're the one who said not to let your emotion get to you but not you're the one losing control, as her shield you need to be strong for her so don't lose control now,"

Reno blinked several times while still looking at the shield. Clarus never did call him by his name, the shield has always been so cold and serious towards him. That's why he always jokes around him and will not take the shield seriously, but now Clarus is now showing compassion, he softened his expression and let his anger fade away, his talons turned into fingers again, he sighed and he regained his composure he smiled slightly towards him, "Thanks I needed that,"

"Your welcome, Reno," Clarus smiled back, "So what now? What is Diabolos doing" he said while stepping back and looking down at Ifrit's champion."

Reno strengthened himself and gaze at the flames, "Diabolos is right Astraea fear is not that strong, for she able to control and overcame it" he stopped and gaze down to his master, "But her desire...,"

"And what's that?

Reno turned towards Ignis, "Being accepted and having a normal life and that what Diabolos will use, I just hope she will see through it all. After all, Diabolos is a master deceiving people hearts,"

The room went silent, after all, That's what Diabolos have been doing deceiving and controlling them like puppets. The king is about to give his comment when the flames started to show a video, they all turned their attention towards it. They saw Astraea laying on a bed and sleeping soundly from above.

"That is her bedroom back on Galahd," Aerith said as she stood up.

"Diabolos is now starting his deception," Reno muttered, his eyes not leaving the flames.

**... **

Astraea woke up and slowly rose up and stretched her arms while yawning, she rubbed her eyes. "Morning Ren-" she looked beside her to find it empty. "Reno?" she looked confused and touched the side of her bed._** "Is that all a dream?" **_she thought. She kept looking at the empty space, her mind wondering what was happening.

**…**

Back in the council room Reno went and kneel down and held Astraea's right hand again. He could feel the starscourge erasing her memory and replacing it with a false one.

"No...no…."

'What wrong Reno?" Aerith asked.

Reno turned to her, "He is erasing her memory and replacing it with fake ones.." he started to panic, "Astraea fight it!"

"Reno?" Astraea whispered.

Reno's eyes widened as he was able to connect with his master, "Astraea!" he exclaimed, "You're in Diabolos realm, he trying to control you by showing what you want, please do listen to hi-" he could not finish his sentence when he heard her cried in pain he turned to the flames and saw her clutching her head with both hands in discomfort. "Astraea!" he screamed suddenly the purple flames burst out from the ground and surrounded her. He and Aerith were able to back away. Gladio was quick and grabbed Noctis before the flames reached him.

"No!" Reno shouted and about to jump into the fire but Clarus and Cor stop him, "Let me go! Astraea needs me!"

"You're just going to make it worse, Reno," Cor shouted while trying to stop him. Reno turned to the marshal ready to lash on him but he stopped when he heard Somnus voice.

_**"Reno stop, believe in her, my sister will win. Don't let Diabolos take control of your emotion."**_

Hearing the founder King's voice made the guardian stop thrashing. Reno knelt on the floor and just watched the flames. Clarus and Cor let go of him and back away. They all resume watching the flames.

**...**

Astraea kept on holding her head, as the pain intensified she started to tremble. "Reno…" she murmured.

_**"Forget him, child, forget everything… forget all the bad memories…." **_Diabolos' shadow appeared behind, he reached his clawed and touched her shoulder. The pain started to go away, she was able to breathe normally.

"Astraea sweetheart, wake up! breakfast is ready!" the voice of Aerith called out.

She was able to regain her composure as the pain and voice inside of her head disappeared, "It's all a bad dream…" she murmured.

"Sweetheart," Aerith knocked at the door, she went and opened it to see her mother smiling at her, "Good your awake, come on your pancake is getting cold," Aerith said and turned and walked away.

"Go ahead mother, I will just clean my bed," After making her bed, she changed into a red dress and walked out the door she stopped and looked back. _**"Wait something is missing?" **_she thought.

"Astraea!" her mother called out again.

She shrugged her shoulder and shouted back, "Coming!"

She arrived at the kitchen and saw Aerith standing in waiting for her.

"Morning!" she cheerful said.

Aerith smiled and patted her on the head, "Morning my dear, here sit down and eat your breakfast,"

"Ok," she nodded and took a seat. Aerith went and sat down beside her. She was happily eating when she turned to her mother in a split second Aerith appearance changed into a Mindflayer and back again. She suddenly stood up and back away.

"Sweetheart, what is wrong? Did you not like my pancakes?" Aerith asked while smiling.

Astraea blinked several times and even rubbed her eyes to see if she was just seeing things "ahh... no. sorry, mother, I'm just a bit sleepy," she suddenly jumped when someone touched her shoulder. She spun around to see a familiar face.

"Morning Kiddo!" Zack greeted her with a big smile.

**…**

"Zack…." Aerith whispered her beloved husband's name.

"That not him Aerith," Reno said while glaring at the flames. "It's a daemon pretending to be him, let just hope Astraea could see though of it,"

Aerith looked back at Reno, her eyes full of concern and worried. Just like him, she can't do anything but watch.

**...**

"Father?" she just looked at her father.

Zack crooked his head to the side and smiled, "What's wrong, kiddo, looks like you have seen a ghost,"

The fire maiden felt lightheaded, as her memory began to fade. The memory of his death and the destruction of the island vanished and was replaced by happy and fun memories. She held her head in discomfort and was going to fall down but Zack was able to catch her.

"Woah...kiddo what's wrong? Are you okay?"

Astraea shook her head and looked up to see her father blue eyes, "Nothing just a bad dream,"

Her father patted her on the head and hugged her, "Don't worry my little fire maiden, nobody will hurt you, just forget all those nightmares."

She hugged him back, Zack started to stroke her hair, he grinned his blue eyes turned yellow.

**...**

Back at the council room, they can see Zack's true nature as a Mindflayer, they are helpless as the Mindflayer tentacles start to engulf Astraea, hugging her more deeply. In real-time, the starscourge in her physical body started to spread more and it reached her waist and elbows.

"NO!" Reno started to panic, he cast fira on the purple flames surrounding his master, but his flames just bounced off and ricocheted past him and struck the chandelier it came crashing down. The people inside the room back away and turned their attention towards the guardian, his wings burst from his back and spread wide, his hands glowed red and he ready to cast everything but Aerith stopped him.

"Reno.." he turned to her, Aerith held his trembling hands, "You must believe in her I knew my daughter, she will see Diabolos illusion," Reno lowered his wings down and nodded at her, then looked around and murmured, "Sorry, for losing control again…"

The people inside the room gave him reassuring looks because they understood his pain, the pain of being helpless and not able to do anything. Reno just bowed his head towards them and looked at the King. Regis nodded at him and gave a weak smile. He took a deep breath as his wings vanished again, he composed himself and glared at the flaming sphere which showed what was happening to his master. He saw how happy Astraea was while having a fun conversation with the fake Aerith and Zack he saw the smile on her face. His hands turned into a fist, that smile is the one he wanted to see on her, the life he always dreamt for Astraea to have, but it's all a lie, created by the twisted Diabolos. He can't do anything but watch events unfold.

**...**

After finishing their breakfast, Aerith and Astraea went outside while Zack went back to her room to get her school bag. He handed it to her with a big smile. "Enjoy your day kiddo," he patted her in the head.

She smiled back and kissed them both on the cheek, "I will see you later!" she waved goodbye at them, They waved back as Astraea turned around, their smiling face turned in a malicious grin as they disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. While walking the fire maiden could not shake the uneasy feeling. She kept feeling that something is now right but she kept waking all the village people she encountered gave her a warm and inviting smile and greeted her a good morning. She does not know why but she liked it, she continued to walk to school. She was surprised that she was now at the school gate. She just shrugged her shoulders and took a step forward when she heard a male main voice calling her in the distance.

"ASTRA!"

She turned around to see no one, "ASTRAEA!" the voice got louder this time, she took a step toward it but she jumped when she heard the bell ring.

"NO, I'm going to be late!" she forgot about the voice and sprinted inside the school. She stopped and stared at the door of her room. She gripped the strap on her backpack. She remembered that time she was being bullied by her schoolmates. She took a deep breath and slid the door open. The students inside the room turned to her, she was expecting them to mock her and make fun of her but that did not happen instead one of the girls cheerfully and gleefully greeted her.

"Astraea! there you are, I have been waiting for you!" the black-haired teen grabbed her hand to drag her to her table.

"Sorry, Edea," she apologized to her, Edea just put two hands on her shoulders to make her sit down. "Don't worry about that just sit down and forget everything," Edea yellow eyes glowed as she erased her memory and replaced it with happy ones. They were best friends and spent all their time together and her classmates liked and adored her.

"Forget everything…" Edea's voice became low, "Forget everything… and be mine…" Astraea eyes started to become dull as she listened to the voice.

"ASTRA!" the male voiced ringed again in her ears, she snapped out from the trance and was surprised that they are now middle of the lesson.

"Lumina!" the teacher called to her while tapping chalk in the blackboard, "Please answer this question,"

"Yes Sir, "she stood up and walked up to the blackboard. She grabbed the chalk as the teacher smiled at her. She stared at the math question for several seconds, her head throbbing in pain but she was able to answer it and she turned towards her teacher. She expected him to mock her or give a bad remark but that teacher just clapped his hands and put a hand on her back and showed her to the whole class.

"See class, you must follow Astraea example,"

She smiled as she saw all her classmates smiling and clapping at her. She blinked one time and was surprised to see all her classmate's appearance changed into daemons. She gasped and back away only to fall down and engulfed by darkness. When she woke up and the class had ended and it's time to leave.

"Astraea, what are you doing?" Edea stopped at her desk.

The warrior of light shook her head, "Nothing, I just kept seeing things,"

"I hope you're okay and I want to invite you to my slumber party?"

Astraea looked at her confused, "You want me to come to your house and sleep?"

"Of course you're my best friend!" Edea grabbed her hand, her eyes glowed again as she kept feeding Astraea fake memories.

Astraea smiled at her, "Yes, best friend…." she trailed off as she stood up, "I just need to go back home and tell my parents," she started to walk away from her when he heard the voice again. "Astra where are you!" she spun around and was surprised her surroundings changed. She is now in the middle of the forest where the giant three stood, "ASTRA!" She felt on her knees while cltching her head.

**...**

Back in the real world, half of her body is now covered with the starscourge. It now reached her knee. Her upper body is turned into a daemon and the black tendril is now on her cheeks going to her eyes she started whimpering in pain as the people around her just stood and watched, they are helpless to help her.

**...**

Back at the dark realm, Astraea was still kneeling as all the memory of what happened in the past months started to disappear. Her meeting with the king and all that event after that. The faces of the people she met started to fade away. She looked up to see them all. First, she saw the marshal and the shield. She was about to reach a hand to them when their body shattered into pieces and disappeared into the darkness. She turned around to see Mecia, Claudia, and Quistis, their bodies shattered and disappeared too. She spun around to see Prompto, Gladio, and Ignis. She only has a glimpse of them before they shattered into pieces.

"Astraea..' she heard a familiar voice. She turned to it to see a face the red-haired guardian.

"Reno?" walked over but she gasped to his body was engulfed by purple females. She stopped and held her head again. "No….."

"Astraea.." she turned to see the king, looking at her, "Your Majesty?" she tried to run to him but Regis's body was engulfed by flames too.

"AHHH!" she screamed at the pain in her head intensified.

"Astra!" she looked up to see Noctis running to her, she held her hand to him, before they could grab each other hand Noctis disappeared and she was back at the forest and the pain inside her head fading away.

"Wait who are those people?" she questioned herself.

"Yes… forgot everything, they don't want you….stay here… with me…." her eyes became dull and lifeless as the area around her started to go dark.

That when a Noctis voiced perched darkness. "ASTRA!"

Her eyes reverted back to being brown she stood up and looked around. "Who are you? Why are you calling me?" she shouted while looking around. She could not understand what was happening. She covered her ears as she could hear several voices inside her head but one stood among them. It was stern but loving at the same time.

"Sing…." the voiced Somnus echoes.

"What?" she opened her eyes.

"Sing Astraea, your emotion will help you remember!" Somnus whispered.

Without giving it a second thought she straightened herself and with a deep breath she sang. (Super Smash Bros: Ultimate - "Lifelight" (Rock Cover) | AmaLee Ver). When she finished her song she opened her eyes and she was surprised to see the forest around her in now burned down and the giant lush tree is now stripped of its leaves. Its skeletal form gave an ominous vibe. She took a step back only to bump into someone, she looked back to see her father.

"Hey, kiddo! What are you doing here?" Zack asked, smiling brightly at her.

"The forest its-" she looked around only to see the forest is back to normal, the birds chirping happily, the gentle sunlight beaming down at them. "Wait...what…."

"You've been acting strange, Astraea, are you okay?"

She turned to him, "No.. I have been seeing and hearing things...bad things…."

Zack just smiled and put his hand on her shoulders, "Don't worry my little fire maiden, there are all just bad dreams, just forget about them…" he grinned, his hands glowed purple as the scourge sipped through his hands and down her shoulder. she looked up to him, her eyes becoming vacant, "Yes.. father I will…" she trailed off as she hugged him.

**...**

Back at the physical world, Astraea whimpered in pain as the starscourge consumed all her upper body, her hand turned into claws and reached her knees. Black tendrils appeared all over her face.

"NO!" Reno shouted at the flames., "Don't listen to him Astraea! he is not real!"

"Astraea, his not your father, don't fall for it," Aerith joined him.

Astraea did not hear them, as she continued to hug the fake Zack.

"Reno! Can you do anything!" Regis turned to him.

"I have been trying to but Diabolos's power is too strong I can go through his shield." Reno gaze at the king with sad defeated eyes.

The people started to worry, Regis is now gripping his cane hard enough to break the handle causing his hand to be wounded.

"Your Majesty, your hand,"

"I'm okay Clarus, don't mind me, we need to help Astraea,"

As the people inside the room started to panic in the dark realm Astraea broke the embrace.

**...**

"Father, may I go to a slumber party?"

"But of course kiddo,"

"Don't worry I will be back early, it's the weekend, we can hunt together…" she smiled at him brightly.

"What hunting?" Zack laughed, "No….no… it's too dangerous my little fire maiden." he patted her on the head.

Her brown eyes showed disappointment, "What not?"

"Because I don't want you to get hurt Astraea," he hugged her, "Just stayed here by my side… don't go anywhere and don't do anything…"

She buried her face into his body and smiled sadly, "You are not him…." she whispered.

"What?"

"You're not him!" she said louder, "You're not my father!" she shouted while breaking the embrace. "For Zack Lumina will never say NO to hunting!"

**...**

All the people inside the room become dumbstruck as they hear her say those words.

"She.." Cor trailed off, "That made her wake up?" he turned to Aerith.

Aerith gaze at him, "I guess so…. they can copy our faces but not our heart that made Astraea realized that the person standing in front of her is not her father,"

Reno laughed, "That Astraea for you, always doing the unpredictable,"

**...**

Inside the dark realm, Astraea memory returned she brushed Zack's hands away and twisted them. Her eyes and hair turned crimson. "GET AWAY FROM ME DAEMON!" her hand burst into flames it ran towards the Zack' arms it shrieked as the flames engulfed its whole body, it returned its appearance into its normal from a Mindflayer. The daemon hissed at her and lunged at her. Astraea feet burst into flames when the Mindflayer was about to attack her, she did somersault her feet exploded on impact and it sent the daemon up in the air and then she jumped and grabbed the daemon in the air and threw it down(Meteor strike). She landed on her knees and hands, she quickly stood up and with a snapped of her finger the daemon exploded.

**...**

Back in the council room, all of their mouths dropped wide open seeing Astraea moved like that except Aerith and Reno.

"WOW! That was awesome!" Prompto shouted.

"Where does she learn to do that?" Ignis asked.

"Zangan thought her," Aerith answered.

"WHAT! Master Zangan, the great martial master?" Cor turned to her.

Aerith nodded, "Yup, Zangan went to Galahd back in the day, He spent two years there teaching Martial art, Astraea…." Aerith turned towards the flames, "She was his only student, she spent her days learning martial art after the first fire incident but she never used it even, until now…"

"Well, that explained how Astraea was able to throw me and knocked me out," Gladio said while rubbing his chin.

"Your father too," Reno piped up, they all turned to him, he just smirked, "The fire maiden is always full of surprises," he looked down and saw starscourge started to disappear and the purple flames surrounding her vanished. But Reno's smile faded when he heard a burst of menacing laughter. They all turned towards the video again.

**...**

Astraea spun around as the forest around her changed, the lush green forest became barren and burned down, ashes and cinder flying in the air. She looked at the giant skeletal tree on the very top perched the dark Astral, his wing folded in front of him. His glowing yellow eyes looking at her.

A smirk ran across his lips, "I never saw a person wake up from my illusion from almost being corrupted, you impress me, child,"

Astraea was scared at first but she just clenched her hands into a fist and did a front stance, "You don't scare me anymore Diabolos and your illusion won't work on me,"

Diabolos laughed as he floated down his wing still closed, "The courage you have is just like Ifrit' flames but just like your Infernian, your flames will die down too,"

Suddenly a Ronin appeared behind her, she had no time to react as the blade of the daemon was about to cut her in a burst of blue light Noctis appeared he deflected the sword away and slashed the Ronin in half.

"There you are Astra, are you okay?" Noctis asked and walked towards her.

"NOCT!"

She ran up to him but stopped, he stopped too, they are a few feet away from each other, "Astra what's wro-" the prince did not have the chance to finish his sentence because the fire maiden punched him the stomach he dropped to his knees heaving. "What the hell! Why did you punch me?" he glared at her.

"Sorry just checking if you're the real Noctis, by the looks of it you're the real after all a daemon can't easily fall like that," she smiled and held a hand.

Noctis took it, "So you're saying I'm weak then?" asked in annoyance as he stood up.

"No, you just need a lot of practice," she said while smiling, he smiled back at her, suddenly she hugged him, he hugged her back. When they broke the embrace she suddenly headbutted him, The prince took a step back, "What is the for!?"

"WHY ARE YOU HERE!"

"I came here to save you!"

"What a stupid thing to do Noctis!" she screamed while pointing a finger at him.

"What! Is that how you treat your savior!" Noctis pointed his finger at her too.

...

Back in the real world, the people inside the room stood silent as the witness the warriors of light continued to bickered

"Are they alright? Are Diabolos making them fight each other?" Prompto sheepishly asked.

"No.." Reno shook his head, "They are just acting normal, just like the first time they meet,"

"They should stop that are still inside Diabolos's realm," Ignis stated.

Reno turned towards the advisor, "Don't worry they know what to do, they are just happy to see each other," Ignis is about to answer him but he stopped when Diabolos laughed maniacally, they all returned their attention towards the video.

**...**

Back at Astraea and Noctis, they wiped around their body towards the dark Astral. Noctis went in front of Astraea and summoned the engine blade and pointed in towards Diabolos.

"I good to see you again. King of Light," Noctis just snarled at him.

"You two will not win against me, after all, your hearts are weak and fragile, you two will break soon enough…" he grinned at them.

"You're wrong," the fire maiden stepped forward, "You don't fully understand this but our heart….._The heart may be weak and sometimes it might even give in but I've learned that deep down there's a light that never goes out _and that light will give us the strength to defeat you Diabolos!" she declared and did a front stance.

"Hahahahhaha," Diabolos laughter filled the air around them, "Let see how long your light lasts…" he opened his wings out came the black smoke the miasma, it surrounded the warriors of light and from the black mist, daemons started to crawl out. Astraea and Noctis stood back to back glaring at the daemon. Diabolos floated and perched himself back at the top of the giant tree.

"Hey, Noct want to continue our bet?"

"Really? It's not the right time for that Astra, we need to focus," he said while looking at the daemon in front of him.

"I know… I just looking forward to the future, after we get out of here I want a tour of the city and you will be paying all my expenses."

"That a weird way of being positive," Noctis laughed and glanced at her. "Okay then, your on! so you're going to need this," Noctis waved his left hand and summoned Astraea rapier.

She took it and unsheathed it and slashed downward, "Let show them the strength of our heart, Noct. Let's show them what the warriors of light can do.." she held the blade of the rapier in front of her eyes, it glowed bright red.

"Okay then, don't hold back, make them feel your flames… Fire Maiden!," The prince held the engine blade with two hands and tightened his grip.

Astraea smiled, "You too, showed them your light, King of Light!" Astraea held her right hand up to the side, summoned a fire spell.

"In my mark…" she whispered, "1….2….3…."

"Go!" Noctis shouted as he warped killing the Goblin in front of him. Astraea laughed as she sprinted towards a Ronin, the Ronin slashed downward she did a semi-parry letting the Ronin's blade slide against her blade, sparks went flying. It gave her an opportunity to thrust the rapier on its heart, the blade burst into flames and exploded it sent the Ronin backward she finished it with casting fira on it. She looked at Noctis who did the same thing with another Ronin but without the flames. Suddenly a reaper appeared beside Astraea, she was able to avoid its blade and stepped back. She and Noctis bumped into each other back. Noctis saw the Reaper swinging its blade horizontally towards them, he quickly bent forward so that Astraea can do a backward roll his back to avoid the blade. She was successful and landed on her feet and cast fire on the reaper while Noctis went for the finishing blow. They smiled at each other and continued the fight.

**...**

Back in the real world, the people awed at the sight of the warriors of light fighting, both Astraea and Noctis have their own skill and fighting style. The prince style is more lunging head-on and continues slashing, while Astraea is a mix of fencing and tricking avoiding the attack and finding the weak spot and finishing by the trusting in the heart. They were amazed by how different they are but feel like one of the same. Astraea will sometimes use her flames to help Noctis while he will teleport on her side to help her.

"Their attacks are synchronized like they are reading each other's mind," Ignis stated as he focused his eyes at them.

"Your right Ignis, they can win this for sure," Prompto said, "GO Noct and Astra! showed them what you got!" some of the other members of the council and glaives and guards, did the same and gave them encouragement.

**...**

Back at the dark realm, King of Light and the Fire Maiden stopped abruptly and glanced at each other as they heard them.

"They cheering for us," Astraea said as she cast fira on an imp.

"They are waiting for us, let's finish this Astra!" Noctis said warped again.

"Can you stop that! It is not fair and it's making me dizzy!"

Noctis just smirked and warped behind her to kill a goblin, "Just focus on fighting," he said as he stood beside her. She looked at him in annoyance, "Can you just stop teleport around can't focus,"

The warrior just looked at her, "Sorry can't," she gave him a bewildered look, he smirked, "This is a contest right so I'm trying to win so bye!" Noctis warped away towards two Imps and with a single slash, he killed them all.

"That's not fair NOCTIS LUCIS CAELUM!" the fire maiden shouted, suddenly a red giant appeared behind and brought its giant blade down. She was caught off guard and couldn't guard and Noctis was too far to warp to her.

"Carbuncle!"

Suddenly a barrier appeared and deflected the blade. Astraea was able to focus and thrust the rapier into the middle of the daemon chest, "FLARE!" The explosion was so huge it sent a shockwave around them. It knocked a few daemons down and killed the red giant in an instant.

"Astra," Noctis warped beside her and helped her up.

"Did you do this Noct?" she asked as the barrier is still in place.

"Nope, she did," Noctis gestured towards his shoulder suddenly Carbuncle appeared, "Astra, I want you to meet Carbuncle, my guardian," the fox guardian bowed her head, "Nice meeting you fire maiden," she said cheerfully.

"Oh my gosh! you're so cute!" Astraea grabbed Carbuncle and hugged her, "You're cuter than Reno Chocobo form.." she said while smiling.

"I heard that…" Astraea heard Reno's voice. She can felt she hurt him a little, "Sorry Reno, but Cally is really cuter than you,"

"Cally?" Carbuncle gazed up.

"Yes, can I call you that? Carbuncle is such a long name," the fox ears twitched and she smiled at her, "But of course fire maiden,"

"Okay now, can we please go back on fighting, you two can talk later," Noctis reminded them.

She nodded and put Cally down and looked around them, they are still a dozen daemon around them. She gazed at the prince, the prince is now breathing heavily showing exhaustion, she too, she is now reaching her limit. She took a deep breath and looked down, "Hey Cally?"

The guardian looked up, "Can you barrier stand my flames?" Carbuncle nodded, "Okay then, Noctis closed your eyes, this will be a big one,"

Noctis is about to give a comment when a huge sigil appeared below their feet. He looked towards Astraea, her eyes closed and focusing while winding her rapier in front of her eyes. She snapped eyes opened and shouted, "HELLFIRE!"

The sky turned red as a giant meteor plummets towards them, Astraea gazed up threw the rapier towards it, Solis, embed half the way through, "FLARE!" The meteor exploded and it rained fire around them killing all the remaining daemons as the barrier kept them safe from the fire it slid and bounced off it. Astraea's rapier was flung away and seeing this Noctis used his ability to warp to it. He was able to grab it in mid-air and warped back down using Solis. Astraea was surprised but was not able to give any comment as she fell down to her knees.

"Astra!" Noctis ran towards her and knelt down, "Are you okay?"

She weakly nodded, "Yes, just use my last stamina that all.."

They both looked around as the rain of fire down died to see nothing left.

"Did we win?" she asked while standing up.

"Don't know.," Noctis said as he looked around. They both looked up at the giant tree that is now burning and to see Diabolos is not there.

A burst of dark laughter filled the air around them, "This is not over yet….warriors of light…"

Suddenly a pool of black liquid appeared below their feet. Astraea pushed Noctis out of the way as Diabolos burst out from the ground and grabbed her and floated away and stopped above him.

"ASTRA!"

**...**

The people gasped as they saw the dark Astral holding the fire maiden up in the air by the back of her neck with his left arm.

"Darn…" Reno but his lips, "Why can't I go to Astraea!"

They are now all anxious, the look of fear and worry plastered all of their faces as they continued to watch.

**...**

"Drop the swords prince," Diabolos hissed at him and tightened his grip around Astraea's neck.

"NO! don't do it Noct," she said between breaths as she tries to pry off Diabolos's talon-like fingers. "Don't….."

Diabolos just snarled, "Such bravery…." he tightened his grip his nails dug into her skin drawing blood. "Want to save her, king of light?" he turned towards the prince. "Stand down and give up.."

"DON'T YOU DARE NOCTIS LUCIS CAELUM! FIGHT BACK!"

"SILENCE CHILD!" Diabolos shouted as his hand burst into purple flames and started to burn her.

"Ahhhh!" Astraea screamed.

"ASTRA!" Noctis shouted, Carbuncle suddenly lunged as the dark Astral, Diabolos just whipped his tail and hit the guardian it sent her into the dark portal.

"Carbuncle!" Noctis called out his guardian.

**...**

In the real world Reno saw this and ran as Carbuncle was thrown from the flames, he was able to catch the small fox, "Gotcha!"

Carbuncle shook her body, "Thank you,"

"You're welcome, so Cally can you go back there?" Carbuncle jumped down from his arms to the table.

"Yes.." the fox guardian horn glowed red but it died down, "What! I can't…"

"DARN! he is keeping us out." Reno slammed his hands on the table. He jumped as he heard the piercing scream of his master. "ASTRAEA!"

The starscourge suddenly reappeared on Astraea's physical body and she started to thrashing in pain. "NO!" Reno ran towards her. "Carbuncle! Do something! use your barrier!"

"Sorry... I can't ..." Carbuncle ears dropped while looking at the fire maiden body from the table.

"No….no…."

_**"Reno…"**_

Reno could hear a familiar voice, he turned to the king and saw the Ring of Luci glowing faintly. "Your Majesty, give me the ring of Lucii!" he held his hand up to him. Regis looked at him hesitantly, "Don't worry it won't affect the barrier around the city," The king just looked at him, "COME ON REGIS!" Reno shouted at him, "You want to save your son and Astraea right?!"

The king flinched at the Guardian's sudden reaction. He slowly removed the ring and handed it to him. "Where the prince?" Reno looked around and saw Gladio carrying him. "Please put the prince down here," Reno patted the ground next to Astraea. Just like Regis, Gladio did not move and just gazed at him, "PUT HIM DOWN NOW!" Reno bared his teeth at the future shield. Gladio scramble on his feet and gently put down Noctis, "Here put it on him. I need to get something," Reno said while giving the future shield the Ring of Lucii. Before Gladio could speak, Reno disappeared in a flash of red light.

"Don't worry the prince will not be harmed," Carbuncle jumped down from the table and stood near his master, "Please put the ring on, we don't have time," Gladio did what the guardian said. The ring glowed brightly on the prince's finger and with that Astraea's necklace reacted with it, it floated up in the air and the light from its red and blue side pulsating. Reno returned back with a small chest, he opened it to reveal three crystals shard its size is the same with the gem in Astraea's Necklace. It floated with the necklace it glowed as it spun around the two warriors, "Stay back," a huge blue seal(FFX BAHAMUT SEAL) appeared below the warriors. Reno burst into flames and turned into his phoenix form he turned towards Carbuncle. "Come on…" Carbuncle jumped into his back. Both of them glowed with their respected colors with the crystals in a flash of light they disappeared and with the crystal and went towards the purple flame. The people inside the room just stood still and watch the event unfold.

...

Back at the dark realm, Noctis gripped Solis and The Engine blade tightly as he glared at Diabolos is still holding up Astraea in the air. The fire maiden upper body is now covered with starscourge but her hands are still on Diabolos's finger trying to remove it.

"Put down the swords.." Diabolos's voice was low, "And join me…" he held his right hand up to him, "You will be able to save her…. You two will never feel pain ever again…"

"NO...Don't do it Noct, don't listen to him.." Astraea muttered as her breathing became shallow her tears falling down on her cheeks.

Noctis gripped loosen and lowered both of the swords down. "I SAID DON'T DO IT NOCTIS!" Astraea shouted at him, Noctis bolted upright and held the sword tightly ready to attack.

"You made your choice, King of Light.." Diabolos' voice became threatening, "Now… watch her die…" Diabolos's tail raised up it burst into purple flames.

"No!" the prince shouted he was ready to warp but someone beat him to it.

With a burst of blue light, a man in armor appeared in front of Diabolos and swung its blade towards its tail and missed it by an inched. Diabolos were surprised and released Astraea. She expected to hit the ground but was surprised someone caught her, she looked up to see Reno in his phoenix form.

"Sorry, I'm late…" Reno said as he flew towards the prince. He changed into his human form and let Astraea lean on him.

"ASTRA!" Noctis went toward them, "Are you okay?" she nodded suddenly a blue barrier appeared before them and later Carbuncle showed herself. "Sorry for leaving you prince, But I'm back!" Noctis just smiled at his guardian.

"Reno, Cally? Why…? how….?" Astraea asked she stood up.

"Now it is not the time to explain," Reno said as he returned to his phoenix form and enclosed his wings around the two warriors. Noctis handed Astraea her weapon back and they gaze at the fight.

"Who is that?" the prince asked.

"It's him, the founder king, Somnus Lucis Caelum," Astraea whispered as she examined the king's blade.

The Somnus was able to slash Diabolos' right-wing. The dark Astral hissed at him and grabbed him by the neck and floated up, "You have defeated me once, Caelum, but this is my realm you don't have power here," Diablos raised his tail up ready to plunge it into the heart of the founder king, suddenly a huge arm burst from the ground and punched Diabolos square in the jaw. It sent him towards the giant tree it broke into half.

"Wow, the Archaean.," Astraea said as the titan raised up from the ground and stood beside the founder king.

"TITAN!" Diabolos screamed burst out from the wreckage of the giant tree, his wings spread wide, he glared at the Astral and summoned a scythe(Wing of Judgment X (MHGU)). He lunged at the Astral and the founder king but before he could reach them, a crack of thunder could be heard. A huge lightning bolt hit Diabolos on his chest and it sent his flying back. He growled showing his fangs as he touched his scorch chest.

Astraea and Noctis looked up and saw the God of Storm, "Fulgurian," they both murmured the Astral name.

"Ramuh!" Diabolos glared at the Stormsender, "How? Why are you?" he lowered his gaze towards the warriors of light and saw the Noctis is now wearing the Ring of Lucii and Astraea necklace is glowing. "YOU TWO!" Diabolos shouted and lunged forward. The Titan and Somnus stopped him but he disappeared in black smoke and reappeared behind them. Diabolos raised his scythe ready to hit the barrier when two water snakes hit him from each side it stopped him in his tracks. Suddenly a huge creature burst from the river and encircle them from up above.

Both Astraea and Noctis eyes-widened to see a huge water snake above them the Goddess of the Sea covered the whole sky. "Hydraean…" Astraea whispered her name.

"Leviathan," Diabolos shouted as he flew up to her and cast firaga, large purple flames went towards the Goddess but she opened her giant mouth and water came out of it and collided with the purple flames. The water went through the flames and hit Diabolos. It sent the dark Astral plummeting down. Reno grabbed the two warriors and jumped out the way the same goes with Titan and Somnus.

"ENOUGH!" Diabolos shouted a huge wall of purple flames shot out from his body and went in all directions. Both Titan and the founder king went in front of the warriors of light to disperse the flames. Diabolos eyes darted towards each Astrals suddenly a ring of fire appeared around him, he floated up and held his right hand up and blackball suddenly appeared above him before he can complete his spell and the air around them became cold, his flames turned into ice his wing frozen, suddenly he was engulfed by an ice crystal. It started to snow, Astraea and Noctis looked around they saw the Glacian, the goddess encircle the barrier while looking at them then stopped beside the founder king.

"She is beautiful…" Noctis whispered and it earned a nod from Astraea. They can't stop looking at Goddess when they hear the ice crystal shattered and rain crystal around them. "Shiva…." Diabolos laughed at her while looking down at them.

Suddenly they heard a whooshing sound. Draconian flew around them before hovering behind the warriors of Light

"Bahamut…." Diabolos's yellow eyes glowed and he smirked as he looked around to see all the five Astrals are in front of him, "It's nice to see you again..my brothers and sisters." he mockingly said as he bowed down his wing beating slowly.

"You don't have the honor to call us that Diabolos!" Bahamut voiced ringed loudly.

Both Astraea and Noctis covered their ears, back in the real world the people could feel the strength of Bahamut voiced so they covered their ears too as they continued to watch. Bahamut noticed this and lowered his voice, "You betrayed us Diabolos and destroyed the balance of the world.."

"Destroyed?" he laughed, "No I save it,"

"Your worthless scum!" Leviathan hissed, "After destroying our crystal and almost destroying the world, you still think you are doing the right thing."

The dark messenger turned towards her, "But of course, Leviathan… I am going to save Eos."

"Save us from what!?" Astraea stepped forward and asked. Diabolos lowered his eyes to her, all the Astrals did the same.

"From you…. all of you… the human race..."

"What!"

"Yes, oh dear Fire Maiden, I'm doing this to save Eos,"

Noctis went in front of Astraea and pointed his sword at him.

Diabolos chuckled, "Humans are bound to commit mistakes, they only seek power and wealth.." he gazed at each Astrals, "After all we did for them, they turned their back against us and forgot that we exist,"

All the Astrals fell silent, "I speaking the truth my dear brothers and sisters, remembered before our fight, the human did not worship us anymore and just continued their lives only seek power and wealth, destroying as the planet at the process."

"NO!" Astraea shouted, "Your the one who made them do that, your dark influence made them!"

"Oh dear child, the human race is created with free will, your free to love, to hate.. and to do everything you want. I just intensify those dark and negative feelings,"

"For what?" Noctis asked, still glaring at him.

"To control them of course, you need to be controlled so that you will not destroy yourself and the planet, that what I'm trying to do… the humans don't need free will anymore they need a god..no….a ruler to rule them all!"

Astraea glared at him, "And you're that ruler?"

"Yes.. but my brothers and sisters don't like them, they still have faith in humanity so they turned against me. Does the Astral war… your should blame t-"

"ENOUGH DIABOLOS!" Bahamut summoned his blade. "We're placed on this planet to watch over them not to rule over, stop this nonsense and give up." he pointed his blade at him.

"I will never give up…" the dark Astrals grinned at him, "Our reunion is not complete yet, you must miss our dear brother!"

Suddenly a large purple fire pillar burst from the ground and made the dust and ashes flew around them. The other Astrals caught off guard and shielded their eyes. The champion of the Astrals did the same. Astraea was able to peak thought and dust and ashes and saw a giant humanoid with horns stepped from the fire pillar.

"Ifrit.." Astraea stared at the God of Fire with wide-eye. Half of the body of the Infernian is covered with starcourge and his eyes are yellow just like Diabolos. Other daemons came out from the pillar a giant three-headed dog, a giant purple octopus, the Marilith and Deathgaze.

"Let us continue our fight and finish it once and for all!" Diabolos declared and lunged at Bahamut. They collided in the sky causing a huge shockwave.

Astraea and Noctis screamed and covered their ears after regaining their footing, they looked around to see each Astrals have an enemy. Titan vs Cerberus, Leviathan vs Ultros, Ramuh vs the Deathgaze, Shiva vs Marilith and lastly the founder king vs Ifrit. The fight was equal no one is backing out.

"Reno we have to help!" Astraea shouted and about to ran out the barrier, Reno stopped her by bitting her on the collar of her dress.

"No, you won't! Do you want to get killed? We need to get out of here! we're are weak and helpless so please don't be so stubborn and follow me," Astraea glared at him."But Reno they ne-"

Astraea was cut off by the sound of swords being struck together. She turned her head towards Somnus and Ifrit. Ifrit was able to disarm Somnus. The founder King fell on his knees the God of Fire raised his sword ready to struck the fallen king.

"NO!" Astraea feet burst into flames it caught Reno off guard and released his hold, she used the flames to run no to fly towards them.

"No! Astraea!" both Noctis and Reno shouted and ran after her.

"STOP THIS IFRIT!" she stood in front of the God of Fire and raised her hands up. The god of fire sword can't stop and struck where Astraea is standing. Fire and smoke covered the area around his giant sword and the fighting stopped around them and turned their attention towards the God of fire.

"NO!" Somnus shouted under his helmet.

The smoke started to clear up and they were all surprised that Astraea was still standing, the blade just missed her by a few feet. Ifrit is kneeling with one knee his yellow eyes gazing at her. "Ifrit….please…. Don't let him take control over you…" Astraea slowly walked toward him and touched his arm. Astraea eyes turned crimson together with her hair, her hand glowed red and blue and burst into blue flames. Ifrit dropped the sword as the flames ran to his shoulder and towards his body. The god of fire howled in pain as the blue flames engulfed him.

"Wait what-" she backed away.

Ifrit fell on his knee as the fire died down, she was surprised that the starscourge on his body began to fade. His dulled eyes started to come back to life his blueish color started to go back to tan. "Fire maiden…." he murmured as he looked up and about to reach a hand toward her went out of nowhere purple flames were fire at him. Somnus quickly grabbed Astraea and jumped back. Ifrit howled in pain again as the purple flames consumed his whole body, the fire died down and Ifrit is back being daemonized.

"WHAT NO!" Astraea tried to run to him but Somnus just closed his hand trapping her inside his palm.

All the daemons appeared behind the Infernian and Diabolos appeared in front of him.

"The Flame of purification," Diabolos hissed and glared at fire maiden after he chuckled, "No matter, you win this time Astrals, but I will be back. I still have the adagium and the Infernian with me. I will win and take control of your champions as well," purple flames started to surround them, "Until next time Warriors of Light…" he laughed as they disappeared into the flames.

"ASTRA!" Noctis went running towards them, Somnus opened his palm and lowered Astraea down. "Noct!" she jumped down Noctis was able to catch her.

"Are you okay? What did you do? And what with that blue flame," Noctis asked her.

The Ifrit's champion shook her head, "Don't know…"

"WARRIORS OF LIGHT!" Bahamut called them.

They both looked up but were blinded by a white light when they opened their eyes there were not on the island anymore but it was on a bluish plane.

"Where are we?" Noctis asked as handed Solis back to Astraea and unsummoned his sword at the same time. Carbuncle jumped up to his shoulder, "We are in the Astral plane, where the Astrals slept,"

"Really? That's kinda cool" Astraea looked down to see her rapier sheath is gone, she frowned, "Are you looking for this?" Reno handed her the sheath. "Thank Reno, and thank you for saving us." Reno smiled, "Don't thank me… thank them…." he looked ahead to find the five Astrals standing before them, Titan is at the far left side beside him is Ramuh both looking at them. Bahamut hovering at the center while Shiva is on his right side while Leviathan's long body encircled them from above but her head is beside Shiva.

Carbuncle jumped down and went in front, Reno did the same, they gracefully bowed their head down. "Thank you dear Astrals for saving our master…" they both said in unison. Astraea and Noctis went beside them and bowed their heads down too, "Thank you for saving me and especially Astraea.."

"Don't thank them yet, King of Light," Somnus's voice came from behind them. They looked back to see he still had his armor.

"Why? And your Somnus Lucis Caelum right? the founder king?" Astraea asked.

Somnus continued to walk and he stopped in front of them below Bahamut. "Yes, I'm" his appearance changed and into his human form and greeted them with a warm smile, "Welcome to the Astral plane, Warriors of Light,"

They both bowed down towards the founder King, "What do you mean, Your Majesty?" Noctis asked as he raised his head.

"Please call me Somnus, Prince Noctis," he smiled at him, "What I mean is that we can't go there without your help if you did not go there and followed Astraea will don't have a way to get to the dark realm and we won't be able to save her. You made it possible and beside you call us.." Somnus eyes darted down on Noctis's finger.

Noctis looked down to see him wearing the Ring of Lucii.

"Astraea walked beside him, Is that the Rin-"

"The ring of Lucii, yes," Somnus cut her off, "That reason we are able to go to the dark realm and rescued the both of you,"

"So… what took you so long?" Astraea asked.

All of them turned to her looking at her in disbelief. She just shrugged her shoulder and continued. "Why let us go through all of that if you are just going to help us anyway?"

"We want to test the two of you," Ramuh is the first astral to talk.

"Test us?" she asked again.

"Yes, the trial of the Astral, a way of which we will determine if you're worthy is such a power,"

"The trial of the Astrals?" they both said in unison.

Both warriors of light turned to each other. Their fight is not over yet, after battling their fear, weakness, and desire, it is time for them to prove to the Astral will there are worthy to be called their champion and warriors of Light. Back at the real-world King Regis continued to watch them in silence, he gazed around to see all the people are focused on the video.

He just took a deep breath, "You can do this Noctis and Astraea showed them your both worthy,"

* * *

_**A/N: **_ My filler chapters are getting longer! Sorry, looks like the game story will not start at chapter 20 maybe 23-24, I don't know I kept having ideas I wanted to incorporate it to my story and question is my chapter too long? Do I need to cut them into two?

I almost forgot Diabolos height is the same as God of fire Ifrit (43.34 ft)

THANK YOU! Hope you enjoy this and have a wonderful day!✩

Next chapter The trials of the Astrals and Caelum's Dark Past


	18. Chapter 16

**_A/N:_** Sorry again the title has changed from _**The trial of the Astrals and Caelum's Dark Past**_ to _The trial of the Astrals._

* * *

**The Trial Of The Astrals **  
_"I can see why the crystals chose you. I can feel the light within you...strong, yet gentle..."- Aria Benett (Final Fantasy III)  
_

* * *

"Trial!? So all we went through is not enough? we still have to prove to you that we are worthy?" Noctis asked while glancing at Astraea. While Astraea cannot stop staring at the founder king.

"Being the champion of the Astrals is not that simple child," Ramuh said as he hovered near them, "You have to make sacrifices, yours and your loved one,"

"What do you mean Fulgurian?" Astraea focused her attention on him.

"You need to be prepared for the future and if you need to sacrifice the lives of others do so..."

Astraea stepped forward, "No.. I won't do that….I will save everyone… I won't make sacrifices anymore... the death of my father and our people and the destruction of our island is enough! I won't let anyone suffer!"

"You can't, it's the role of the warriors of light, to save the world, you have to make sacrifices again and again," Ramuh maintained his stance.

"NO! I won't if that is my future then I won't accept your blessing….." Astraea stood straight.

"I was right….." Leviathan said in a disappointed tone, "They are not worthy of our power…...the two of them are just like other mortals and they will fall….. the rite of choosing the champion of the Astral can't be attainable." her slit pupils focused on the two, "You two did fall and almost got corrupted by the darkness. We don't need warriors like you, pathetic and worthless mortal," The Goddess of the Sea snarled at them as she raised her head up.

Hearing that Astraea snapped her attention towards the Goddess, "Wait… What?!" she walked forward and passed Reno and Cally while Noctis just stood behind, "First of all, dear merciful Goddess…" she said in a sarcastic tone, "We did not ask for this, we did not ask to be the warriors of light and your champion so stop blaming us for almost losing, second we are just kids for goodness sake!" Astraea's voice kept rising as she gripped the sheath of her sword. "The third!" she pointed her sheathed sword at the Goddess. "You summoned us! you need us to defeat Diabolos and you can't even kill him on your own, that's why you need us and not only that we fought him and we did win against him and his mind tricks and he was not able to corrupt us and we did that all alone without any of your help! and fourth! You can't even stop or kill him permanently and it's 1 against 5 and you still did not win. So who's worthless and pathetic now!" Astraea's brown eyes glared at the Goddess.

Leviathan snarled at her, "What an ungrateful and disrespectful mortal you dare mock the Astrals! Ifrit was wronged to choose your family and he is wronged to choose you. You're going to fail, the bloodline of Izunia, just like your ancestor before you…"

"At least we tried! unlike you… and the God of Fire was not wronged! The Infernian did choose the right thing!"

"And what is that child?" Leviathan asked, still snarling.

"He chose to believe in us…. us mortal which you despise apparently. I know the past people of Eos, did evil things and revolted against all of you. But you can't blame all the people for the sins of a few. Our heart may not be perfect, we can fall into our fears and that fear causes hatred and anger. But we learned how to overcome it. Having the courage to face our fears, gives us hope for the future and we never abandon love. And that what the Infernian saw and he gave us a chance and the people of Solheim proved that. They even helped the other clans to move forward and made the people return their faith to the Astrals." Astraea paused and gazed towards the other Astrals.

Reno is about to step forward but Astraea continued this time her voice has more anger to it.

"When Diabolos started to target my ancestors what did you do? you did nothing but watch!" her hair started to turn blood red, "And yes…. you did give the people of Eos your crystals but it was too late. My people, who did everything they could to save Eos but that was not enough. They gave their lives and their home. They sacrifice everything but instead of becoming heroes they became the enemy and the infernian was later hated for his action!"

Back at the council room, the people started to murmur at each other as they listened to the fire maiden.

"I know you went to war and were wounded but if you gave your blessing in the first place, Diabolos could never do what he did. The Infernian tried to tell you that we needed your blessing but Noooo…. you thought we are beneath you and don't deserve your blessing so what happened...Diabolos were able to corrupt the lightning Crystal and rage a war again and yes you did help but it's too late and because of your arrogance, your crystal got destroyed. So stop blaming us for your wrongdoing and let me ask you this too, You are supposed to be our Gods but all of you didn't even care to help. The Astrals should govern and guild the people of Eos! but all you did is ridicule and judge us without giving us a chance. No wonder the people fell into darkness and did not believe in you anymore, after all, their Gods do not believe in them so why should we believe in you. You are just a big ugly and scaly WATER SNAKE!" Astraea shouted as her eyes turned crimson.

Noctis, Reno, and Cally's jaws dropped after hearing Astraea's rant. While the Astrals have no reaction at all, same with the founder King. Back at the council room, the room fell silent. Nobody is moving as the people are dumbfounded by the action of the fire maiden.

"YOU DISRESPECTFUL LITTLE CHILD! DO YOU WANT ME TO END YOUR LIFE!" Leviathan hissed as she summoned two water snakes as her side.

"Show me your worst water Snake-" Ifrit's champion was about to unsheath her rapier when she was cut off by Reno. He whacked the rapier from her and covered her mouth with his hand and bowed down to the goddess.

"I apologize….Tide Mother, she is still in shock, in what happened. After all, all the revelation about her ancestor and Diabolo's sudden attack left her petrified and confused, she does know what she is saying, please forgive my master." the guardian raised his head and towards Somnus his eyes pleading for help while Astraea kept thrashing on his arms. "Please forget all the things she said is just nonsen-"

Reno was cut off when Astraea stomped on his right feet, elbowed him in the stomach and headbutted him in the jaw. He released his hold and Astraea finished him in with the kick on the stomach he fell down on his back. His eyes widened while Astraea glared at him, "What do you mean nonsense?! I'm telling the truth!" she turned towards the Astrals, "If the Astrals gave their blessing early on, then Diabolos should have never gained power and this stupid endless war should have never happened so blame them for what is happening!"

Reno just stared as his master in shock. He turned to the Astrals and saw they were shocked as well while Noctis was still speechless, and didn't know what to do. She then grabbed her rapier from the ground and unsheathed it and threw the sheath on the ground.

"Is that how your parents raised you to be a disrespectful child?" Leviathan asked as she lowered her head down and looked at Astraea's glaring eyes. "They must be worthless like y-"

"Shut up!" Solis burst into flames, "Don't you ever call my parents that! My mother and father raised me well! They said I need to fight for what is right and never back down. They said I should never tell lies and followed my heart. That is what I'm doing, I'm telling the truth! So if you are angry with that, that means you are guil-" She could not finish her sentence for she was attacked by one of the water snakes and was flung backward.

"Astra!" Noctis shouted as she passed her.

**…**

Back in the real world, the people inside the room gasped.

"What is happening! Why are the Astrals like that? Why are they attacking? I thought we were on the same side. " Prompto voice started to panic once again.

"Be calm Prompto…," Ignis stated, his eyes not leaving the video, "Remember what The Fulgurian said?" he turned to him.

"…You mean the trail of the Astrals?" Ignis nodded, Prompto sighed and turned towards the video, "So this is just the trial of the Astrals? Ignis nodded again, "I hope your right Ignis…"

**…**

The fire maiden did a back roll and stood up immediately and a ring of fire appeared around her as her hair burst into flames, embers fluttering from it. She gritted her teeth towards the Goddess. Leviathan just raised her body up in the air and summoned two additional water snakes at her side.

"You made your choice child, NOW DIE!" Leviathan said all four water snakes attack Astraea in unison. The first attacked her from the right side, she was able to sidestep and slashed it and the second was on the left, she was able to dodge it too and fired a firebolt at it, the water-snake evaporated on impact and it caused steam to surround her it obstructed her sight. The third water snake attacked her from behind. The impact was so strong that it sent her tumbling down before she hit the ground, the fourth water snake attacked her from the front, it flung her backward yet again. She hit the ground hard and skidded a few feet.

"Astra!" Noctis shouted as he ran towards his friend.

Cally and Reno were about to help them but the found king stopped them, "Be still, guardians, this is the trial of the Astrals don't interfere," Somnus said in a stern voice as he watched the event unfold. Cally and Reno just looked at him and then turned their attention towards their master.

Astraea was on her knees and hands she was coughing and wheezing as some of the water entered her mouth and nose. She saw her rapier a few feet from her because she dropped when she hit the ground. She is about to grab it when the two remaining water snakes lunged at her from above. She just closed her eyes and waited but the pain never came. Her eyes went wide when water was splashed on her. She looked up and saw Noctis standing in front of her. The engine blade one hand and Solis in the other. She noticed that the two water snakes are cut in the middle. It stopped and hovered around them.

"Noct!" Astraea stood up as the two water snakes around them liquefied.

"Are you okay?" Noctis turned to her.

She nodded, "Why? Why did you help me?"

Noctis just smiled at her, "Have you forgotten already, I promise to protect you,"

"Thanks…" Astraea blushed and smiled back at him and grabbed the Solis as the prince handed it to her.

"Do you always act like this? attacking everyone without thinking?"

She is about to answer his question but she stopped when Leviathan encircled them with her massive and long body. The Goddess glared down at them, "Are you going to follow her action King of light?"

"Yes!" Noctis answered right away and gripped the engine blade tightly.

Astraea turned to him, "You don't need to Noct, I can handle it please -"

"Like I said I promise to protect you," the king of light eyes glanced at her, "Even if against them…"

She felt ashamed not only, she is putting her life in the line but the life of the prince as well, but she will not back down and she will never sacrifice anyone again and she is willing to fight the Astrals for it. "Noct… please…"

"See child you are worthless.. Give up your conviction and follow our every command and you might live!" Leviathan snarled at them.

Astraea eyes landed on the Goddess, "Over my dead body!" she hissed, "My conviction will stay…. and I will save the people of Eos and I will not sacrifice a life not even a single one! With and without your help we will defeat Diabolos!"

The tide mother turned towards the prince, "Do you have the same conviction prince?"

Noctis gulped but he quickly stood straight, "Yes, we have the same conviction, we will protect our people with and without your help…. If you have to fight for our freedom to do it... so be it?" Noctis blue eyes glared at the Goddess.

Leviathan saw the emotion in their eyes, they will not back away. The goddess then turned towards Bahamut, Draconian secretly nodded at her. "Well then prepared to die!" Leviathan suddenly swiped Noctis with one of her giant wing-like fins. Noctis was sent backward and collided in the Goddess's tail. Leviathan's tail started to wrap around Noctis and started to squeeze him.

"NOCT!" Astraea tried to run to him but she was stopped by several water snakes. "GET OUT OF MY WAY!" she summoned a ring of fire. It disintegrated the water snakes in an instant.

"ASTRA! Look out!" Noctis shouted.

She looked back and saw Leviathan's giant mouth before she could react to the Goddess. Leviathan ate her in one bite.

"NO!" Noctis was able to break free and used his warping ability. He threw his sword towards the Goddess's snout. It dug deep into the Goddess scaly skin, The tide mother howled in pain and thrashed her head sideways to knock the prince sword. "GIVE HER BACK!" Noctis shouted through gritted teeth. Leviathan was able to knock Noctis and the prince fell down hard but it did not stop him and stood up and used the sword as a cane and leaned forward. He took a deep breath and stood straight. Even if his knees were shaking he pointed at his sword again at the Astral. "GIVE HER BACK!" he shouted, the ring of the Lucci started to glow.

This earned a look of worry from the founder king, "Bahamut….please stop this...they have proved their worth, stop the Hydraean.." Somnus's voice is just like a whisper but Bahamut heard it and the Draconian turned to Glacian. Shiva nodded at him and flew towards the fight.

Noctis is about to attack again but he stopped when he heard the soft voice of the Glacian, "Leviathan stop it now. You had your fun," Hydraean turned to her, Shiva was floating near her head.

Leviathan snarled at her, "It's still not enough!" she turned towards the prince again.

"ENOUGH!" Shiva's voice became stern, "Bahamut's order and please release her. You just need to test them not kill them… so stand down!" Leviathan gazed at Shiva looking annoyed and then she glanced at Bahamut. Bahamut nodded sternly. Leviathan huffed and opened her mouth and out came a waterfall, Astraea with it. Noctis was able to catch her fall.

Astraea was unconscious and not breathing so the prince lay her on her back and started to performed CPR. Noctis did 30 chest compressions and about to do a rescue breath but Astraea was able to regain consciousness. The prince lay her in her side and patted her on the back to help her remove the water from her lungs. "Astral are you okay?" Noctis asked as he helped her to sit up, Astraea slowly nodded, she about to open her mouth but they all jumped and stood straight when they heard Bahamut voice, "Warriors of light.." Both Noctis and Astraea went into high alert and ready to attack again. Noctis pointing his sword while Astraea summoned a fire spell.

"Woah….Stop….," Reno said as he suddenly appeared before them, "It's over… Don't move...the two are exhausted, the trial is over so please be calm." Reno said in a soft tone as he put his hand on Astraea shoulder and hugged her, making her calm down. "Shhh… It's alright It's over…"

Carbuncle did the same with Noctis, Cally jumped into Noctis's shoulder and wrapped her tail around his neck. "It's alright prince, please unsummon your sword," Noctis followed her and turned to Astraea, who's now sitting down at the ground he followed and sat on his knees.

Reno was now kneeling on one knee in front of his master and brushing the hair away from her face, "You know Astraea, you're going to kill yourself because of the mouth of yours." he said while smiling as he removed his suit jacket and put it on her shoulder.

Astraea just tightened her grip on the lapel of the suit jacket to cover her more for she was shivering. "It's nottt... funny Reno, I almost...ggggot killed," she said while shivering.

"And who's fault is that?!" Reno whacked a knuckle on her forehead, "Here it will help you to get warm," Reno summoned small fire in his right palm and handed it to her, she took it. "Want one Prince?" Reno turned towards Noctis, the prince just shook his head. He was just looking warmly at Astraea. Who's now hugging Reno's flames close to her body. It started to dry her and her shivering fading.

"Graduation warriors of light," Somnus said while walking towards them, he stopped a few feet from them, "You both earned the respect of the Astrals and have passed their trial and now both of you have now covenant with them,"

"Covenant?" Noctis asked as he gazed at him,

"Yes, The Astrals will help you now while waiting for the other warriors to be chosen,"

Noctis is about to give a comment but Astraea beat him to it, "WHAT! ALL OF THAT IS FOR THE TRIAL!" Astraea stood up and glared at the Astrals, "What kind of Gods do such a thing!"

"We do!" Leviathan answered her, "We need to test how brave you truly are, we want to test if two are really ready to fight a god,"

Astraea opened her mouth to give a comment but Ramuh voice stopped her, "Not only that we want to test you in your conviction," the Fulgurian hovered down and looked at them in the eye, "We need warriors the has a strong conviction, the conviction to do what is right...we will never ask someone to sacrifice other to win, that the reason why the two of you passed our trial,"

"Why... where the past warriors failed to do so?" Noctis asked as he stood up.

"Yes," The Archaean was the one who answered him, "We tried to choose our champion back then but their answers are all the same, they are willing to sacrifice everything even the life of the loved one, because of that they lack conviction, the conviction to save Eos and its people, The warriors of light should never let anyone die, the role is to protect and serve the people, and you two proved us you have the courage… hope...and love to beat the dark Astral once and for all,"

"Well.. if that is so... stop asking people the question! that the first instinct of the person is to say yes, after all, the Astral asked them that," Astraea said, she turned to Noctis, "But not us right Noct? We will protect everyone…" Noctis nodded and smiled at her, "But still I was right if all of you listened to the Infernian and gave your blessing, Diabolos should not be winning right now… all you of shoul-"

"Will you stop that!" Reno whacked her behind the head. "You're talking to the Astrals for goodness sake!" She glared at him and about to shout but the laughter of the founder king stopped her, she turned to him.

Somnus was laughing hard as he took a step back but he was able to regain his kingly demeanor and stood straight and gaze at the fire maiden, "You are really like her…Astraea Izunia. For she never backed down for any fight both verbal or physical until she got what she wanted. It's her gift and curse like the flames she controlled. It both beautiful and deathly at the same time,"

Astraea eyes-widened as he heard that comment. Suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her head, she backed away while holding it, "Astraea are you okay?" Reno asked.

Astraea gazed at the founder king, she wanted to ask about her dream, about Ardyn and Aera, if her dream is true if Astraea Izunia and he are truly siblings. She wanted to ask why she is having these headaches. But looking at the situation is now the right thing to do so she lies. "Yes, I'm okay...maybe I'm just tired," she said while giving a soft smile.

_**"Bahamut what is happening to her?" **_Somnus asked the astral telepathically.

_**She is fighting her mind, her memory is returning and she does not know what to do with it… do you want us to return to memory now founder king?" **_Bahamut answered.

_**"Even if I want to... I can't not… she is too young to know what is the truth… I don't want her to suffer because of our past mistakes. We need to protect her, so, for now, let her be…."**_ Somnus said as he gazed sadly towards his sister. He wanted to hug her and tell her that everything will be alright, that he is proud of her but alas he can't not, he needs to protect her, even if it's hiding the truth and keeping himself away from her. Somnus was lost in his train of thought when he heard her sister's angry voice again.

"COME ON! GIVE ME BACK MY RAPIER SNAKE!" Astraea shouted at the Astral.

Leviathan just snarked at her, "NO! this is mine now Child!"

Astraea summoned two firebolts in both hands ready to attack the Hydraean.

"Leviathan…Give her weapon back," Bahamut ordered.

The Tide Mother just scoffed and spit the rapier out, it clunk when it hit the ground, "No!" she went towards it, but Somnus grabbed it and handed it to her.

"You should take care of that, it was Astraea Izunia precious treasure," Somnus said, using a loving and soft tone.

"Thanks…" Astraea took it and she looked up to his sapphire's eyes. She noticed that both Somnus and Noctis's eyes are identical. She really wanted to ask a question about her dreams but she decided to ask another one. "May I ask a question, Your Majesty ?"

Somnus nodded, "What is it?" He was ready to answer even if she asked about her dream he knew what to do but he was surprised when Astraea asked a different one.

"What happened to her? to Astraea Izunia did you find her?"

Somnus turned to Reno and back at her, he took a deep breath and said, "No, did not for she is able to hide her presence from me, I could not track her down, But I know she continued to fight the darkness in every end but she did get married and pass down her bloodline, now… you're going finish what she…no… what we started…"

"Oh… that unfortunate, but I promise to follow her footsteps and will win this time, I can assure you that, Founder king I will never let you down," she bowed down.

Somnus chuckled and patted her on the head, "I know you will, for you have the same flames in you,"

"Speaking of flames…" she raised her head, The blue flames early on what is that, that is the first time I ever used or summoned it?"

"That's the flames of Purification, Fire Maiden," Bahamut answered.

She turned to him, "Flames of Purification?"

"Yes," Reno chimed in and walked beside her, he held both of her hand as he explained it, "Well back then when Astraea Izunia did not only accepted Ifrit's flames but Bahamut's light too,"

"Bahamut's? I thought a person can only have one blessing?" she asked.

"Yes," Bahamut answered her again, "Back then I gave Astraea Izunia a little of my light to infused with Ifrit's flames thus the blue flames, The Flames of Purification, using that flames you can turn people back into a human after being consumed by the starscourge and turned into a daemon. It is a very strong purification spell. Looks like you can help save the God of Fire."

"WOW! That is cool Astra!" Noctis said as he walked beside her.

Reno sighed and hugged Astraea, "Yes is cool, but it is dangerous using two Astrals blessings at the same time will cause the champion's life to fade, so please don't use it all the time, I almost lost Astraea Izunia because of that, so please Astraea, don't...don't leave me just like she did…" Reno said as he leaned his forehead on her.

"Reno… I promised I won't…" she broke the embrace and smiled at him

The guardian smiled back and grabbed her rapier, "Wait here I go get the sheath," he jogged toward it.

"So Astra, are you alright?" Noctis asked.

"Yes, I'm okay," she said still looking at the Hydraean,"

Ramuh noticed that the fire maiden was looking at the Leviathan. Fear and anger visible in her eyes, so he asked her, "Why are you so angry at the Hydraean fire maiden? she just did what she has to do and gave the two of you the trial you should not let your anger stay,"

"Oh.. no... I am not angry at her, in fact, I respect her, it's just her appearance that all," she said shyly.

"And what's wrong with my appearance?" Leviathan snarled at her. She jumped and hid behind the prince.

"Astraea?" Noctis's voice seemed alarmed as he turned to her. She saw this and looked down at her feet.

"You saw my past right and saw what happened? What Kadaj did to me? When they threw in inside the well, I spent my whole day inside the dark well and they are a dozen snakes in there too, looks like they gathered it beforehand and threw inside and make me felt more terrified and that work… staring that day, I'm terrified of snakes and close spaces...Especially their eyes, I don't know why but Kadaj and his brother have a slit in their eyes, like snake eyes, so every time I see a snake it reminded me everything they did… what he almost did to me…" Astraea hugged herself and her body started to shake.

Noctis saw her trying to fight back her tears. He tightened his hands into a fist. He does know why he is very affected seeing her like that, he took a deep breath and stepped forward and gave her a deep embrace, "Shhh… don't cry… I'm here…I will always protect, they will never harm you, I promise," the prince whispered into her right ear and he rubbed circles on her back.

Reno walked slowly towards them and stopped beside the founder king, Somnus's eyes glanced at him and he said telepathically.

_**"After you returned to the real world, Hunt them down! Make them suffer!" **_Somnus said, his voice full of anger.

_**"I'm planning to…" **_Reno replied as he gripped the sheath tightly.

_**"The bond of family is stronger than I thought…" **_Both Somnus and Reno turned towards Bahamut. Bahamut's blue eyes glanced at them, **_"Without a doubt, the prophecy will be fulfilled, When darkness veils the world, the flame, and the light will be called once more. The bond that was forgotten will be one and the call of the Astrals shall be heard."_**

_**"If that is so we need to protect them at all cost, the future of Eos must be protected…" **_Shiva entered their conversation.

All the astral turned to each other and they nodded in agreement, the founder king and the guardians did the same. _**"Yes… we will…"** _Somnus lastly added.

Astraea was still shaking and crying, nobody wanted to interfere except for the Hydraean.

"So weak…." she smirked.

Astraea suddenly stopped and broke the embrace and glared at the Astral. The other Astrals were surprised by the sudden action of the Goddess of the Sea. But the Glacian knew what she was trying to do. Leviathan wanted to make Astraea calm down so she let her and told the other what the Goddess of the Sea is trying to do.

"I'm not weak!" Astraea shot back.

"Really…you mortals are always weak, your hearts are full of fears.."

"What is wrong to have fears? It is normal that we mortals have weakness and fear, we can even feel hatred and sorrow. But for me it's okay, it will teach me how to become stronger because for me.._.__Hatred and sorrow are power. They are yours to control. All you have to do is turn them into strength and use it to move forward."_

Leviathan smirked again, "Then show me, child! how strong you are!" the goddess body raised again.

Astraea did a fighting stance, her fists glowed red. Noctis was taken aback and can't move.

"YOUR ON SNAKE!" Astraea was about to lunge forward but Reno smacked her in the top of the head using her own sword, "OUCH!" she fell down on her butt and sat on her knees. "What is that for Reno!"

"Are you insane? Do you really have a death wish!" he shouted at her. "If you really want to fight an Astral then fight the Diabolos!"

Astraea just glared at him and huffed and looked down at the ground, "She started it…" she murmured.

_**"Thank you Leviathan…" **_Somnus thanked the goddess.

The Hydraean just smiled at him then looked back at the fire maiden who was now moping around while her guardian continued to lecture her.

"You should really watch the way you act and think before speaking, you always get yourself in trouble because of your impulsiveness behavior. Starting right now you will act like a princess after all you're the descendant of the rulers of Solheim. Your Astraea Lumina Izunia!" Reno continued to speak to her with an authoritative tone. "Is this clear Astraea?" he asked her, she did not answer. "Answer me! Lumina! That's an order!" She snapped, her hair burst into flames, her eyes glowed crimson. Without a warning, she uppercuts him n the jaw. The guardian was sent flying through the air and landed a few feet of them.

"NEVER ORDER ME RENO!" the fire maiden shouted, her hair flying in the wind.

Noctis jaw dropped, Astraea noticed it and she flattened and arranged her hair as it returned to normal, her eyes stopped glowing and returned to being brown.

"Remind me not to order you around when we got back home, Astra," Noctis chuckled, she shyly smiled back.

_**"She never did change,"** _Carbuncle said to Somnus.

Somnus chuckled slightly, _**"Yes, but she is more feisty than ever…." **_he turned to Reno who now back at his feet and picking up Astraea's rapier, **_"_****_Looks like, Big bird never did learn his lesson.…." _**

_**"I can not blame Reno, he was waiting for two thousand years to serve her again, just like you master…" **_Carbuncle looked up to his former master, **_"_****_You've been waiting to see her again, this lively and happy…"_**

Somnus took a deep breath and smiled at his former guardian, _**"Please Carbuncle protect both of them, they are precious to me…" **_the guardian just nodded and then looked back at the warriors of light.

"Now I know why he chose you…" Both Astraea and Noctis jumped when they heard the voice of the Goddess of the sea again. They turned their heads to the side to be met by Leviathan's giant head, her yellow eyes focused on the fire maiden. Her two long barbels(whiskers) touched both Astraea cheeks and brust her hair away. It sent shivers down on Astraea's spine. She squealed and hid behind Noctis while still glaring dagger at the goddess. Leviathan chuckled and raised her head up, "Now I understand why Ifrit chose you…"

Astraea eyes went wide, her feeling of fear faded so she stepped forward and stood beside Noctis again. She jumped again when Reno tapped her rapier on her right shoulder. She looked back and took the rapier and smiled at him, he smiled back then he turned towards the Astral.

"What do you mean, Tide Mother?" Reno asked. Astraea was relieved that Reno asked that question because she is too afraid to ask that.

Leviathan's sharp eyes softened and gazed at her, _"I can see why the crystals chose you. I can feel the light within you...strong, yet gentle..."_ she said in a calm and loving tone.

"Oh…thank you…." Astraea whispered but it's enough to hear the goddess. Leviathan bowed her head, "You earned my respect Fire maiden," she turned to the prince, "You to King of light, I will expect great thing for you in the future once we meet in the physical world,"

Both Astraea and Noctis strengthened themselves and bowed down in unison. "Thank you… Goddess," Noctis raised his head and looked to his side, to see Astraea's head was still down, "Astra?"

"I'm sorry…." she blurted out, "I'm truly sorry…." Astraea went down on her knees, her head still down, "My guardian was right…. I acted harshly and I offended and disrespected all of your dear Astrals…I'm very sorry..."

"Astraea…" Reno lowered himself to her, "You don't have to kneel down and apologize, is all my fault…" he raised her chin up and tucked a hair behind her ear, "Diabolos learned of your existence because I was careless, I did not know he could feel your flames I was not even able to help you when you needed me," Reno gazed at the wound on her chest, "I failed again…. I always failing…You must be mad at me if you want you can choose another guardian, Ifrit still has one more messenger and maybe he can protect you more than I…" he lowered his head down.

"Reno…." Astraea patted him on the head, "My little Chocobo…" Reno suddenly looked up because it's the nickname she gave him back on Solheim and in Lucis. She smiled brightly at him, "I will never do that… you will always be my guardian….okay?"

He smiled and nodded, "Always…" and bowed down after a few seconds he raised up and helped her on her feet.

"Astra... Are you okay?" Noctis asked her.

"Yes, I'm fine,"

"Fire maiden..." Astraea looked up to the Draconian, "Your guardian is right... You must not apologize… After all, you've been through a lot, losing your love and your homeland, seeing the dark Astral feeling his dark energy and fighting his darkness is not an easy task, and I'm glad that you did not fall into his darkness. It is normal to act like that... But please in the future control your emotions."

"I will Draconian," she bowed down to him.

Noctis went to her side and patted her on the back, "You know you're like a fire Astra," Astraea tilted her head to the side because of that weird statement, he saw the confusion in her face, he chuckled, "Fire is always unpredictable and uncontrollable but still has beauty in it. You just need to learn how to use it properly,"

She laughed, "That weird thing to say Noct,"

"Really? You're that one who's always saying weird things, I'm just following you,"

Astraea laughed again, "I'm only kidding Noct, Thank you,"

"You're welcome so what are we going to do now?" Noctis's eyes become serious. Astraea face dropped because she does not know either what the next step is.

"Warriors of Light!"Bahamut's voice echoed around them. They turned to him, "You must return to your world and continue your training. Your guardian will teach you until then we must wait for the right time,"

"Why can you just return back with us Draconian?" she asked.

"We cannot…" Shiva answered her, "Our physical body is still weak and we still need to recover our power, after all, we used it again to save both of you, but don't fear… when we wake up we will choose our champion, and they will help you to defeat Diabolos."

"But Shiva…." Fulgurian hovered beside her, "Your body is no more…"

"Wait...what? What happened?" Astraea asked.

"After the empire got hold of Tenebrae, I sensed Ifirit flames were dying and he was falling into darkness, I woke up outside the imperial capital, the empire was ready for me...They were able to kill my physical body but not my soul…" Shiva explained, "But don't worry, Bahamut…." she turned to the Draconian, "He gave me part of his power, I will be able to recover thanks to him, you don't have to worry… just focus on your training Warriors of light."

"Did the champion of Diabolos do that? Astraea asked again.

"Yes,"

Astraea eyes-widened, "So… where he is? What does he look like? I want to know so that we can prepare,"

"His appearance can't be determined," Titan spoke up, "Diabolos's champion has the ability to change his appearance so is very difficult to know what he look like,"

"Oh… that is not good…" Noctis muttered under his breath.

"Don't worry king of Light, as long as you too remain inside the city you are safe. The barrier is stronger than before I can assure you that."

"What about Diabolos, what happened to him?" Noctis asked the leader of the Astrals.

"Just like us he will be weakened, taking the two of you inside his realm and being defeated loosened his strength. So just like us, he will go into slumber once again." Bahamut turned towards the guardian, "Guardians you know what to do.."

"Yes...Draconian," both Reno and Cally bowed down their heads.

"You must return to your world now...Champions," Somnus said gazed at them, "We will meet up in the future,"

Noctis and Astraea nodded and bowed their heads again.

"Thank you very much for saving us, dear Astrals," Astraea said while looking up, she saw every Astrals looking at her with sadness in their eyes. She doesn't know why their faces and their emotions are giving her a weird feeling, that she saw it already. She was snapped out her train of thought when she heard Noctis ask a question.

"I have a question dear Astrals," Noctis asked as his gaze went past the Astrals and went up.

"What is your question king of light?" Bahamut was the one who answered him.

"What is that thing?" Noctis pointed at the thing in the sky.

All the Astral looked up and saw what the prince was talking about, "Yeah… I saw that too. It's showing a faint light…"

"What are the two talking about?" Reno asked, still looking up.

"You don't see it? Looks like a giant eye," she answered him.

"Etro's gate…" Bahamut whispered as he looked down towards them, "You can see it, warriors?"

Both of them nodded, "Yes, so what is it?" Noctis asked again.

"It's Etro's gate," Somnus answered.

"Etro?" both warriors asked.

"Yes, the gate of the Goddess of Death, Etro…"

"Wait there another Goddess we don't know of?" Astraea said, still looking up.

"Yes, she is the goddess of death, her only role is to guide the soul of the dead to the afterlife. She had nothing to do in this war so don't worry about her.."

"Can you see it? Founder king?" the prince asked.

"Yes the soul of the dead can see it, back then it opened for me, but I did not cross it,"

"But why?" Astraea eyes glanced at him.

"I need to guide the future rulers of Lucis… my soul still resides here in the Astral plane waiting for the King of light to be born,"

"You're waiting for me?"

Somnus turned towards the king of light, "Yes, and the warriors of light that will aid you in defeating Diablos. Until then my soul shall not rest."

"Astraea Izunia what happened to her, did she do the same or she went to the afterlife?" the fire maiden asked while stepping forward.

Somnus can't answer that question, for, in fact, she is Astraea Izunia. He opened his mouth to answer but Bahamut answered it for him.

"Astraea Izunia soul still wonders Eos.. just like the founder king. She is still waiting for the darkness to be vanquished once and for all,"

"Oh is that so...where is she? Can I talk to her?"

"She's still out there Astraea, still hiding in the shadow," Reno answered her, "Don't worry someday you will meet her…"

She just nodded at him and looked towards the Astrals again, "We promise to fulfill our calling as the warriors of light, we will wait for your awakening dear Astrals," All the Astrals nodded at her.

"Always remember my light will guide and protect you, warriors of light," Bahamut wings spread wide and it began to light up. It blinded both Astraea and Noctis. They shielded their eyes with the use of their hands. The astral started to disappear one by one. Astraea saw Somnus smiling sadly at her…

"Good luck… Astraea…"

Astraea heart started to ache and she reached a hand towards the founder king, _**"Wait! Somnus! Don't go!" **_

"I will always be with you…" she heard Somnus' voice before her consciousness faded.

**...**

"Astraea…" Reno's soft voice echoed inside her head.

"Astraea sweetheart… wake up…" she could feel her mother's hand on her forehead, "Astraea…"

She opened her eyes slowly to see Aerith's face looking down at her, "...Mother?"

Astraea could feel that her head was lying on her mother's lap and she was wearing Reno's suit jacket, "Are you okay, sweetheart, anything hurting?" she did not answer and went straight for a hug, "Woah! don't move so much, your wound might open,"

"Sorry…father died because of me... and I destroyed Galahd... you put in danger…sorry…sorry..." she kept saying those words as she cried into her mother's shoulder.

"Shhh… don't cry Astraea...it's not your fault," Aerith broke the embrace and cupped her face and brushed the tears away using her thumbs, "You don't have to apologize,"

"No…" Astraea shook her head, "Because of me, father died… and…."

Aerith hugged her again to stop her from speaking, "Astraea… your father always loved you and he is proud of you and he won't like it if you kept thinking of that… so please stop crying and stop blaming yourself, my dear,"

She brushed her tears away and nodded at her mother. "Okay...mother...I will,"

"Your mother is right, Astraea don't blame yourself,"

The fire maiden broke the hug and turned around to see Reno. He is in his Chocobo form sitting beside them, "Reno," she touched his right cheek then hugged him, "Thank you for saving me,"

"Don't thank me… thank the prince, without his bravery, we would not be able to save you,"

"Noct! where is he!" Astraea's calm demeanor changed into panic as he pushed Reno away.

Reno just sighed and stood up and stepped sideways behind him was the prince who was lying on the King's lap, "Noct!" she went straight and sat beside the prince. "Why is he not waking up?" she turned to Reno before he could answer. Noctis grunted and opened his eyes. "NOCT!" she cupped his face Noctis winced at contact, "Noct! What is wrong? are you hurt!"

"Your… elbow…" Noctis said between short breaths, "It's crushing my ribs,"

She looked down and to see that her elbows were really crushing the prince's ribs, she sat up straight immediately, "I'm sorry...sorry…I'm sorry…" she kept repeating the same word while bowing.

Noctis chuckled as he sat up, "I'm okay... You don't have to apologize and why are you like that, where is your fiery attitude... a minute ago you were ready to fight the Hydraean to the death, this look doesn't suit your fire maiden..." he mocked as he ruffled her hair.

Her eyes went glaring at him in an instant, "Hands...OFF..…" Noctis's hand stopped before he could retract his hand, she suddenly went for a hug. Noctis landed on his back because the King is ready on his feet. They stayed lying like that for a few minutes. She was still hugging Noctis, feeling his heartbeat, Noctis did the same as his arms were wrapped around her waist.

"Ahem….are your two planning getting up?" Reno lowered his head down to their level. Both of them bolted upright and sat on their knees. They looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"So Noct, who won?"

"What?"

"I lost track of how many kills I did...You?"

"Oh… that…" Noctis put his hand on his chin, thinking about the fight, "Don't know... I lost count too.."

"15," a voice came from behind them. They looked up to see Ignis looking down on them beside him were Gladio and Prompto.

"Wait what...you saw it?" Astraea asked.

"Yup, we saw everything Diabolos took the time to let us watch what is happening in his realm," Reno said as he transformed into his human form. "We saw how you both defeat your fears and desires and how you overcome the curse of the starscourge." he held a hand towards his master. She took it while Ignis did the same with the prince.

"Really?" she glanced around the room and her gaze landed lastly on her mother.

"Yes..my dear," Aerith went to her side and hugged her again, "Your father will be proud of you for how strong you become.."

"Thanks, mother," she broke the embrace and looked back to see the King was hugging the prince. She gave them time to talk and so she turned to Ignis, "So how many did you say we killed, Mr. Scientia?"

"15...you both killed 15 daemons each and I told you to call me Ignis… Lady Astraea..." Ignis answered with a smile on his face.

"I told you too to drop the lady, Ignis" she just smiled back at him, "I'm impressed you did count our kills by watching it?"

"Yes,"

"That is really impressive Specs. Can you be a great strategist in the future," Noctis said as he walked towards them.

"Thank you…. you're not bad yourself, Your Highness,"

"Yeah... Noct our training paid off," Gladio smacked Noctis on the back. He stumbled for a bit but regained his balance.

"Thank I got a great mentor after all," Noctis smiled at his future shield.

"NOCT!" Suddenly Prompto dove towards Noctis and they both fell down. The blonde was hugging the prince in the waist, "I was so worried I thought I was going to lose your Noct!"

"HEY! GET OFF ME PROMPTO!"

"Why? You let Astraea hug you like this!" Prompto whined, still hugging the prince tightly.

"Astraea is different, now get OFF!" Noctis shouted as he tried to pry the blonde arms away.

"Hhhmpppp Hahahahah…." Astraea chuckled while covering her right hand over her mouth. Both teens looked up to her, "You two like a couple,"

"What no…" Prompto released his hold on Noctis's waist and stood up and helped Noctis to his feet he then turned to her, "If there are a couple here… you are those two! You too are so sweet and your hugging all the time!"

The fire maiden lowered her hand, "A couple?" she turned to the prince and smiled, "No… we are more like a brother and sister right Noct? Noctis nodded.

"Of course you do both Somnus and Astraea are siblings after all…" Reno joined their conversation.

"WHAT!" Both warriors shouted at him.

_**"Crap!" **_Reno stopped and took a step back, "What I mean is both Somnus and Astraea are like brother and sister, after all, they were best friend since childhood," he said with a smile but inside his mind, he praying that they will believe him, "You inherited their feeling for each other, platonic love between friends…" Astraea and Noctis both stared at each other and smiled. **"Phew… that work,"** he sighed in relief.

"Hey prince," Noctis turned towards his future shield. Gladio was looking at him with soft eyes, "You should have told me about your leg, I keep pushing you on edge starting right now I will be more considerate about your training,"

"Gladio is right, Your Highness, for now, you need rest and let take a good look at your leg, maybe we can tend to it."

"Yeah, Noct… don't overdo it," Prompto added.

Noctis was surprised by their kindness, "Thanks… Gladio, Ignis, and Prompto…But I am okay now, it doesn't hurt that much and I need to train a lot more now, considering the situation now.."

"Are you talking about Noctis limp on his right leg?"

They all turned to her, "How do you know?" Noctis asked.

"I noticed it by in the desert,"

"Wow.. you noticed it just one day of being with me?"

"Yup," she smiled, "I'm good at detecting a person's weakness just by watching them fight or just by looking at them,"

"Impressive," Ignis said.

"Thanks, so if I were you, don't let your guard down in front of me, for I can make a record of your fighting style with one just glance and use it in the future,"

"Duly noted," Ignis said with a smile.

"Great." she smiled back at him, then she glanced around to see that the council members were still around and a few people were standing around them, "But what really happened to me? I can't remember?"

"Diabolos appeared inside this room and attacked you and he infec-" Noctis did not finish his sentence as he saw the blood on Astraea clothes. He quicking walked over to her and brust Reno's jacket away to see the wound had not healed yet and was still bleeding. "You're still bleeding… Gladio chair! Ignis first aid kit!" Gladio and Ignis moved and followed his command. Before Astraea could react Noctis pulled her and made her sit on the chair, "Astraea can I touch you? We need to tend to it…"

She could not answer because she was still shocked. Noctis is still waiting for her response, Reno saw how reluctant she is so he stepped in, "I will do it, Prince…" Noctis turned to him and then looked back at Astraea who's now gripping her guardian suit jacket tightly covering her body more.

"Oh...okay... Do we need to do it in the medical wing?" Noctis asked as he gave way to Reno.

"Is up to her...Astraea you want to go to the medical wing and stayed in the hospital room?"

She shook her head, "No..I don't like staying in a hospital room, I'm okay it does not hurt, just tell me what happened then you tend to it,"

Her guardian saw the seriousness in her eyes, Reno knew there was no point in arguing with his master, so he took a deep breath and explained how the starscourge works. He explained that the person needs to be corrupted first before turning into a daemon. That the scourge will use the person's fears or desires to corrupt the heart of the host so that the daemon could take over. Then Noctis gave the summary of what his fears and how he overcame it and he said that he saw her desire and how she fought it and the rest is history.

"It's that so…" she glanced over the wound and then to the prince, "Thank you...for saving me…."

Noctis just put a hand over her shoulder, "Your welcome and I promise you...you will not be rejected by anyone anymore and nobody is going to hurt who while I am around...Astra…"

She started to cry, Noctis panicked and tried to ease the tension away, "So speaking of my fears, I did kill five daemons so I killed 20, so I won our bet,"

"Okay...so what do you want me to do…" she asked, trying not to cry.

"Well.. maybe….try not to go into the dark realm in the future, Okay?" he smiled at her.

She chuckled and smiled brightly at him, "Can't promise that, after all, we will fight Diabolos in the future, we need to train and so that we can bright the fight to him!"

"Looking forwards to it fire maiden let us save Eos!"

They both smiled at each other did a firm crossed arm handshake. "Let do it King of light!"

"We are here to help the both of you Warriors Of Light," Regis called out to them.

They both turned sideways to see the king with the council, standing in a semi-circle around them, the crownsguards and kingsglaive behind them.

Astraea stood up and took a step forward, "Your Majesty… I'm sorry…" she bowed down, "I put all of you in danger…so if you don't want me here...I will accept it… after what I did in Galahd…."

"Astraea, child…" Regis walked over her and put a hand on her head, "You don't have to apologize,"

One of the councilmen stepped in, "I should be the one who needs to apologize, I said horrible things to you… please forgive me lady Astraea," he bowed down and followed by the others.

"Please don't…." she held her hands up, "Diabolos is the one responsible for those negative thoughts… so please don't apologize …"

Clarus stepped forward, "Then you should not apologize to Lady Astraea and we are here for you will help you and the prince in this battle,"

She smiled at him, "Thank you...Mr. Amicitia .."

"You don't have to leave. Your very welcome here .. after all, you are a part of our family now… Princess Astraea…" Regis added.

Before she could protest Carbuncle appeared before them.

"Cally!" Both Noctis and Astraea went to her side, "Sorry that I did not return with you, Master,"

"It's okay," Noctis replied, "So are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Master, I just have a message from the Astrals,"

"What is it?" Reno asked while walking to them.

Carbuncle horn glowed and with a flash of blue light and crystal shards of the Astrals float around her and landed on the warrior's hands, "The other Astrals went and gave power the gave life of this shards and they ask me to gave it to the king,"

"To me?" Regis walked over to them.

"Yes, Bahamut said that it will help you strengthen the barrier, just let it float beside my master's Crystal,"

"How about Astraea's necklace? can she keep it?" Reno asked as he grabbed the necklace in mid-air.

"Shiva wants it to remain at her possession and Your Majesty this belongs to you," Carbuncle jumped to the king's shoulder, "Please held your hand," Regis did what she said, the guardian's horn glowed and with a flash of light, the Ring of Lucii appeared in the Hand of the King, "Please take care of it,"

"I will guardian and please thank the Astral for me,"

Carbuncle nodded at him, "So who will help me, Master, let us go to the crystal chamber now,"

"We can take it, Your Majesty?" Noctis asked.

"Very well then, I will accompany you this way," Regis held his hand to lend the way.

Carbuncle then jumped to the prince's shoulder, But before they could take another step, both warriors felt weak all of a sudden and suddenly they felt consciousness and fell forward. Reno was quick to catch Astraea and Gladiolus was able to catch the prince. The crystal shards just float before it hits the floor. The room went into panic once again as the two warriors lost consciousness.

"Don't be afraid they just went to sleep," Reno said as he glanced at his master and brushed her bangs away, "The starscourge is out of their system now but it will take time for them to recover and It's just normal that they lost consciousness. They need to recover their strength after all.

"Reno is right," Carbuncle said as she jumped down and gathered the crystal shards "But expect that they will sleep for a couple of days,"

Clarus took the chest which held crystal shards and sat it down beside the Bahamut's messenger, slowly the shards went to the chest and it closed at its own, Clarus then picked it up.

"Sorry, dear Shield, you can take the shards? I need to be with my master," Carbuncle asked as she jumped into Gladiolus's shoulder.

"Will do, Messenger of Bahamut,"

"Just call me Carbuncle," she smiled at the shield, he nodded in response. "Okay then, The prince and lady Astraea need to rest, can we finish this now Your Majesty?"

"Go ahead... prepare the hospital wing for Astraea," Regis ordered as he turned her maids.

"Please don't," Reno called out, "Astraea said she doesn't want to stay in the hospital room, her room is enough,"

"Are you sure Reno and how about her wound, do I need to send the royal physician?" Regis asked.

"Yes, I'm sure and I can take care of her wound, Your Majesty," Reno walked over the King and whispered, "Just take care of the people, King Regis, make sure no information will leak out," Regis nodded so Reno stepped back and slightly bowed his head, "I will take Lady Astraea to her room now, Your Majesty,"

"Alright then, we will handle this, just take care of Lady Astraea, and if you need anything just asked her personal maids," Regis said as he gave way to him, "And Aerith you can accompany him to make sure your daughter is okay,"

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Aerith and Reno bowed and walked out the door. Mecia, and Claudia not far behind them.

Regis then turned and walked to his son and his friends, Noctis was sleeping soundly on Gladiolus's arms. Regis put a hand to his head and turned to the future shield. "Please take my son to his chamber, I will visit him when I'm done here,"

"Right away Your Majesty," Gladiolus stated and bowed down and started to walk away. Ignis followed him then Prompto. When they were at the door, the blonde stopped and looked back, "Your Majesty?" Ignis and Gladiolus stopped hearing his question.

"Yes, child?" Regis turned to him.

"Can I stay? I want to make sure the Prince is okay, if you allow me, Your Majesty,"

"Sure child, my son will be happy knowing that you are always at his side, just ask Mr. Scientia to drive you home later,"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Prompto replied with a smile. After bidding their goodbye the trio went to the Prince chamber.

Regis took a big sigh of relief and took a seat on the chair nearest to him, "Your Majesty are you okay, you need to rest too," Clarus asked.

"No, we still need to finish the council meeting please everyone gath-"

"That is enough Regis!" Clarus shouted. The king and the people around him were stunned. Clarus did not mind it and looked at the king directly in the eyes, "Regis you need to take a rest, we can handle this,"

Regis could see and the sincerely in his friend eyes, he sighed and said, "Okay you win Clarus," he stood up, "Cor,"

"Yes, Your majesty," Cor went towards the king's side.

"Make sure this won't go out to the media, lie if you have too and please take care of this situation, we will strengthen this out tomorrow morning,"

"As you command King Regis," Cor replied.

After saying a few words to the council and making sure that everyone is okay he ordered them to take rest and they will talk about their future action tomorrow. After that Regis left the room with his shield. While Cor and Drautos talk to their respective group to handle the situation in secrecy.

…

In Astraea's room, Reno took care of her with the help of Aerith, they were able to heal the wound but it left a scar. Regis did visit them briefly making sure everything was okay then he went to the prince's bedroom to make sure his son was okay. He let Prompto stay the night for he didn't want to leave Noctis's side. After that, he went to the crystal chamber to leave the crystal shards, the shards glowed and encircled Bahamut Crystal. He can feel the added power and protection from the crystal shards. He can felt that the barrier is fives times stronger now.

"Thank you dear Astrals," Regis said towards the crystals. The crystals just glowed signaling that the Astral heard him. He bowed down and left the room in silence.

After making sure everything is okay and everyone is safe and that's the only time Regis went to his room to take a rest. For tomorrow will be the day their lives will change for the better or for the worst

* * *

_**A/N: **_Sorry for the long update for I did have a writer's block and the problem of the coronavirus is not helping either. I hope I can lessen your anxiety away with my story. After all writing, this story helps me too. Take care and I hope and pray this will be over soon.

THANK YOU! hope you enjoy this and have a wonderful day and keep safe!✩

Next chapter _The Caelum's Dark Past_


	19. Chapter 17

_**A/N:**_ _Sorry again the title has changed from **The Caelum's Dark Past** to Recalling of the Past: A New Beginning. Starting this chapter I will not give chapter preview title for I kept changing it and kept adding new chapters._

There will be three Final fantasy guest characters that will be appearing in this chapter. One will play a vital role in the story and the reason why I fell in love with the Final Fantasy games. My favorite male character of all time...

There are two quotes in this chapter, one from a Final Fantasy game and the other is from a movie.

_"It Is said some lives are linked across time... they are connected by an ancient calling that echoes through the ages... Destiny"_ _-Prince of Peria: The sand of Time_

* * *

**Recalling of the Past: A New Beginning  
**_"This is not the beginning of the end. It is the beginning of new hope we have created." - Cid (Final Fantasy Type-0)_

* * *

Two days have passed and both warriors are still sound asleep. But all their wounds are now healed, except for Astraea's wound that turned into a scar. Reno did not leave Astraea's side and kept watched over her. While the king is still busy doing damage control. Because of the recent attack, King Regis ordered to double no triple the security around and inside the Citadel and kept the Citadel on lockdown. Nobody can get in or get out without the King's permission or order. This went on for two days straight.

Clarus, his shield, was worried about the King's health both mentally and physically. After the attack, Regis did not sleep very well and kept exerting himself. Sleeping very late at night and waking up before the crack of dawn. His calm demeanor changed into a state of panic and unrest. Making the people around him feel the same way. So Clarus decided to comfort the king about his sudden change of behavior.

Clarus went into his chamber, he knocked three times, "Your Majesty, it's me Clarus, may I enter?"

"Yes,"

Clarus opened the door and walked inside to find the King busy at his desk, reading the report of the sudden rise of daemon outside the crown city. The shield saw the untouched food on the coffee table. He sighed in annoyance and looked at his friends. Regis's appearance was haggard and his hair was a mess and the bags under his eyes were very visible. Regis Kept Cor and Drautos busy, he kept ordering them to send more guards and glaives inside the Citadel leaving the crown city unprotected.

Clarus stopped and stood straight in front of the King's desk, hands behind his back, his eyes straight looking at the King. Regis did not even acknowledge him and kept working. He cleared his throat, "Is this a bit too much your Majesty? You even have taken almost all the glaives from the front line to be assigned here."

Regis was so busy reading the papers on his desk that he answered his shield without looking up. "No Clarus, this is still not enough! We need more guards inside the palace and make sure they are sworn to secrecy before they step foot inside the Citadel. We can't let the people of the city know what happened, it will only cause panic."

Clarus's face dropped as he looked at his friend. "But My King, Your making is worse, the people are now asking why the Citadel went into lockdown, the media is in our front gate asking for answers. They are looking for their King. You have been absent from the public eye for months now and now this… If you continue to act like this they will be anarchy."

"So I will declare Martial law! We need to protect them… Clarus... we need too…" Regis said as he looked up to him.

The crazed look in the King's eyes made Clarus feel uneasy and angry at the same time. He wanted to scream at him to stop his madness but he cannot because he felt his emotions, the feeling of helplessness and fear. Even with all his experience being the king's shield in all these years and all the horror of war and daemons he saw, it's nothing compared to what he saw in the council room that day. He remembered how terror streaked through him after seeing the Dark Astral for the first time. He can't even move a single muscle in his presence. The incident affected the King and with his connection, he can also feel what the king is feeling, the feeling of fear and unrest. "Regis, please stop this…" he took a step forward and leaned his hand on the table, "You're just making it worse… you need to rest, the people are still counting on you so please…"

"I can't take a rest CLARUS!" Regis stood up and slammed his hand in the table, "He might come back… he might attack again! I need to protect them… I need too… it's my duty as king..." he said as he lowered his head down.

Clarus took a deep sighed and walked over and gently patted Regis in the back, "You need rest, my friend, please come this way…" He guided the king to the living room set. Regis body slumped into the armchair, The monarch rested right arm to the armrest and leaned his forehead. He took a deep breath, "What I'm doing wrong Clarus…", The shield did not reply and handed his glass of water, he took it and drank it all.

Clarus took a set in front of him, "You're not doing anything wrong, Your Majesty… you're just tired you should rest, leave everything to me…"

Regis did not argue anymore and did what his shield asked him to do. Just like Astraea and Noctis's bedroom, the King's chamber was made out of two separate rooms, one is for the sitting area and his desk and the other one is the main bedroom where the bed and bathroom are located and was separated by a double door. After thanking his shield Regis went to his bed and rested. Clarus left his room and went to the Astraea room to ask Reno for help. Reno opened the door with a smile but the shield did not return, "We need to talk," he said in a cold tone as he went inside without hearing a response he took a seat in the armchair. Reno just looked at him bewildered and closed the door.

"Why the long face, Clarus?" Reno asked as he flopped his body on the sofa.

"The king… he is emotional right now… He's not thinking straight. I know you have your hands full," The shield looked at the fire maiden sleeping at the bed and turned to him, "But… please help… I don't know what to do…"

Reno knew it was a serious matter so he sat up straight, "I can't do anything, sorry… but I knew who might be able to help…" Clarus just looked at him, Reno just smiled at him sadly, "I just going to ask his help, for now, let the King rest, tonight we will talk, bring Cor as well,"

The shield nodded and stood up and bowed his head towards the guardian, "Thank Reno…"

The guardian just smiled and patted him on the shoulder, "You must rest as well, let's continue this tonight," Clarus did what he said, he left Astraea's bedroom and went to rest. After the shield left Reno went to Aerith's bedroom. He knocked three-times

"Come in," Aerith answered.

He opened the door and stepped inside and closed the door behind him. There he saw her talking to her brother, Reno greeted the leader of the hunter organization with a two-finger salute, "Hi there…"

Aerith knew right away something was wrong so she asked, "What happened? Is Astraea okay?" Do I need to go to her right now?" She stood up and walked towards the door.

"She's fine," Reno smiled, "How is your brother? how is he taking all of this?" he glanced at the leader of the hunter organization who's sitting at the armchair with a dumbfounded expression. After the recent attack, Aerith asked him if she could tell her brother about Astraea's real identity and about the dark Astral. He gave her permission and Aerith is now halfway in the story when Reno entered.

"I'm still at the Astral war, can you help me?" she asked as she walked back to her brother and sat on the sofa.

"Sure, I have nothing to do anyway," he said as he walked towards them, "But you need to absorb all this information right away Dave, for tonight will be another wild night…" Reno sat on the armchair and crossed his legs.

Both siblings looked at each other then turned to Reno, "Well then, where are we?" Reno asked.

"I'm at the aftermath of the war of the Astral,"

"Good… let me continue it.." he said and turned towards the head hunter.

It took almost half a day for Reno to explain everything to Dave. But just like the others, Dave was dumbfounded at first but regained his composure. After that, he told them to take a rest and eat, for tonight there is going to be a big revelation.

Nightfall, the King took his dinner and went back to his desk once more, working nonstop. While Aerith and Dave looked after Astraea. At the Crystal chamber, the founder king was just standing and looking at Bahamut's crystal in silence, for the past two days he just watched how the people reacted. He saw how the King went from calm and collected person to troubled and fearful. He was worried that the king would commit the same mistake he did. For King Regis was acting the same way he did back on old Lucis. So he planned to intervene and to reveal the dark secret which he had been hiding all these years. The dark secret which the kingdom of Lucis was made from.

The door opened behind him, without looking back he knew who it was, "Are they ready Reno?" he turned to him.

Reno was not surprised after all he knew that Somnus was watching them all this time, "The real question is… are you ready?"

Somnus just nodded, "Yes… let's do it…"

They decided to have a meeting in the king's chamber. They all gathered there, Aerith, Dave, Cor and Clarus were sitting at the living set having a snack while Regis was too busy working at his desk.

"Your Majesty, you need to rest…" Clarus stood up and walked towards him, "Please join us…" Regis shook his head and continued his work, Clarus continued "Regis please y-"

"No wonder the Prince is stubborn he got it from you, Your Majesty," Reno interjected as he appeared in a flash of Red light in front of the King's desk with Carbuncle sitting on his shoulder.

"Good Evening your Majesty…" both messengers bowed their heads down. Regis nodded at them. Reno raised his head while Carbuncle jumped to the table. Ifrit's messenger turned towards the shield, "Your shield is right, Your Majesty, you need rest, please have a snack and stop working," he smiled at the king, Regis did not listen and continued to work. "Regis…" he called him with an authoritative tone, this made the king looked up at him, "Stop working and have a seat," he ordered as he pointed at the living room set where the people were dumbfounded by the action of the guardian, The king opened his mouth to protest but Reno beat him to it, "Sit down,"

"Aerith what is happening? Why is Reno angry at the king" Dave whispered at her ear. They were sitting beside each other on the sofa. "Don't know…" she answered him.

Regis was shocked at first and he did not even move from his chair and just stare at Reno with wide-eye.

"Please Your Majesty… take the seat," Carbuncle said as she jumped from the table to the king's shoulder.

Regis glanced at the fox guardian then towards the phoenix guardian, with a deep breath he stood up and walked slowly towards the living set with his cane. Clarus helped him. The black and gold victorian living room set is positioned in the middle of the room. The two armchairs facing each other and one long three-seater sofa and a coffee table were placed in the middle facing the king's study table. Regis took the nearest armchair near his table. While Reno did not move from his position, he looked back to see Clarus was standing behind the king, he walked over to them, "Take a seat Shield," he pointed at the opposite chair arm which was vacant, for Cor was sitting beside the hunter siblings. Clarus followed his command. The first few minutes are just silence; they are all glancing at each other.

"Well then… now we are calm… let begins…" Reno stated.

"Begin what?" Regis asked.

"Our intervention, Your Majesty, you're taking this a little too far… you need to stop i-," Reno answered.

"I'm not taking this far…" Regis interjected, "I need to protect them Reno, he stood up, "I need to do everything to protect them,"

"That's it, Regis, you're just making it worse. Taking all the guards and glaive assigning them here. Locking down the whole Citadel, we need to protect the warriors from prying eyes, but the way you're acting now is just drawing more attention towards you and towards the warriors putting your and their lives in danger more," Reno gazed at him. "If you not careful we just going to lo-"

"That enough Reno…"

A familiar voice echoed around them, then suddenly with a flash of blue light Somnus' spirit appeared where Reno was standing a minute ago. They all stood up and bowed at the founder King.

"Founder King? What brings you here?" Regis asked.

"I'm here from you Young King," Somnus answered as he took a step, "I'm here to help you," he stopped and glanced at everybody, "I'm here to help you all," All of them just looked at each other and took their seat, "I gather all of you here today, for I have noticed that all of you been affected by Diabolos's attack and become anxious and fearful and one of you…" he glanced at King Regis, "Is not thinking properly and causing more trouble than helping…" Regis looked hurt as he heard the comment of the founder king. Before he could comment, he continued, "For I have been through it… I have been through it all, and King Regis," his blue eyes focused on him, "If you continue this path, you will experience what I went through, a life of misery and regret." he took a deep breath and looked around, "For I made this same action, I thought I'm protecting them...I'm protecting her… but instead, I ended up breaking up our family. Yes, I did save Eos but it ended up losing everything…" his hands turned in a fist, they can saw he fighting his tears, "And Now I'm given a chance to correct what I did wrong, to correct my sin and ask for forgiveness as well and I going to use this chance to help all you, especially you King Regis," his eyes glanced at the King once more, "For I don't want you to follow my footsteps. Yes, I was known to be the savior of Eos but I was not able to save them… my loved ones who helped me become The Founder King of Lucis…"

A long pause ensued as nobody wanted to talk, the presence in the room became uneasy, as the Founder King kept on standing still while closing his eyes.

'_Will you ever forgive me… Astraea…?' _Somnus thought as he pictured her standing in front of him, her back turned against him and started to walk away, '_No! Where are you going!' _he started to walk to her but he stopped when another person appeared beside her, it was Ardyn looking at him with anger in his eyes, '_Brother? Please forgive me… I did what I was supposed to do…' _Ardyn summoned his blade and pointed it at him, '_I will not fight you, Ardyn… please end this madness…" _Before he could speak again Ardyn attacked him. His eyes snapped wide open and he blinked several times.

"Master?" Carbuncle's worried voice can be heard calling him from the coffee table.

He looked down at his former guardian and smiled sadly, "Sorry, Cally I just lost in thought," he walked and patted the fox guardian on the head. Carbuncle nuzzle her snout against his palm. "You don't have to do this and it is not your fault Master," Carbuncle looked at him with soft eyes.

"Cally is correct, Somnus," Reno walked beside him and patted him on the shoulder, "Astraea won't like this… you know… she will be mad at you if you continue blaming yourself…" he smiled at him.

"And yet she is still fighting because of me...she ended up here because of me…" Somnus drew his hand away from Carbuncle, "I must correct my wrongdoing, and this is the first step I will take…" he looked at Reno, "For me to forgive myself… so please take out your memory sphere, I want them to see what really happened,"

Reno's face dropped with his shoulders, "Sorry my sphere got shattered, but Cally has one right?" he turned towards his fellow guardian.

Cally's ears slumped down and she took a step back, "No… I don-"

"Cally…" Somnus stopped her, "Please I need this… followed my command."

The fox guardian looked defeated and bowed her head down, "As you wish Master," her ruby horn glowed red and with a flash of blue light a memory sphere appeared.

Somnus bent down and grabbed the sphere, he put his right palm and touched the blue sphere. It lit up as it absorbed his memory, then he turned to Reno and handed it to him, "Your turn…"

The guardian just sighed and took the sphere, "I've been trying to erase that memory you know Sommy…" he said with a cheerful tone.

The founder king smiled as he heard his nickname, that the nickname that Astraea gave him, "I know sorry… that you have to go through this again… do this not for me but for her…" Somnus smiled sadly at the guardian. Reno just sighed again and did what Somnus did a minute ago, he focused his thoughts while touching the sphere, the room plunged into silence again as they waited for the guardian to finish.

'_What does he mean his sin?' _Regis thought as he looked at the founder King, '_Does he mean the fake history of Lucis and Solheim?"_ he pondered, '_And what does he mean I will make the same mistake as he did?' _Regis continued to ask these questions in his mind. He snapped from his train of thought when Reno finally finished.

"Done…" Reno said as he put down the sphere in the center of the coffee table, "Can I go now? Astraea needs me…" he started to walk away, "Reno…" he stopped when he heard the stern voice of the founder king. He turned around and looked at him.

"Astraea is safe...Please stay… I need you here," Somnus pleaded.

"Fine," Reno replied, "Just let me sit this one out and you tell the story?" he dropped down on the ground and sat Indian style. Somnus nodded and looked at the people around them.

"Founder King?" Regis called out Somnus glanced at him, "You don't have to do this… if you don't want too,"

Somnus shook his head, "No, I must do this… it will help you to know who is Diabolos and how he fights in the darkness. I will help you to be prepared if he does it again." he then turned his attention towards the others, "Reno did tell you the real history of Solheim and Lucis but he did not tell you what really happened, there is a lot of question in your mind right now, and I will answer that, especially your question Shield," he turned to him, Clarus straightened himself upon his seat, "You questioned why we don't just say or revealed the truth to Astraea." Clarus just nodded, "Well then let me tell you about the tragic story of my siblings' life…"

Somnus's eyes glanced down at the sphere it lit up and projected a picture, "Let me introduce to you Ardyn Izunia(Age 33)…the firstborn son of Vincent and Lucrecia Izunia, my older brother," the sphere showed a picture of Ardyn having brown hair and blue eyes and wearing his white healer robe with Aera by his side, "And his fiance Aera Mirus Fleuret the Oracle, Our people called him the Healer but now he was another name and that is The Accursed… Champion of Diabolos...Adagium… " the sphere projected Ardyn with red-violet colored hair and with amber eyes wearing a black trench coat. "I will tell you how he became the Accursed..." he paused and took a deep breath, "And how the Fire maiden... Astraea Izunia, our dearest little sister," Astraea(Age 25) picture appeared, she was wearing a pink and white dress. Both of her eyes and hair were red, "Lost her life...and was killed..." All eyes focused on the fire maiden, he took another deep breath and said a low and sad tone, "By my own two hands..." All eyes snapped at him. They can't believe what they just have heard. Reno just sighed, crossed his arms and turned his attention towards the raging flames at the fireplace. Cally just laid down on the coffee table and wrapped her tail around her body.

It took another minute or two for all of them to regain their senses. Somnus did not let anyone ask a question, he continued his story.

"Let us start our story then... Five years before the war of the Astrals our father was chosen by Ifrit and was made King of Solheim in those five years we lived in harmony and peace. But just like Reno said, the people of Elheim started to envy us and they joined forces with Diabolos to destroy us. The day they attacked we were not only celebrating our Father's coronation but Astraea 20th birthday as well."

Somnus smiled sadly as he remembered that fateful night. The sphere started to project his Memory. Just like Reno's memory, it's a first-person view.

**…**

_Somnus was standing near a pillar overlooking the entire floor of the throne room. A party was being held, many people were talking and having fun. He gazed around and found his sister. Astraea was wearing a red long dress and a winged tiara with a red gem in the middle(Elvish tiara with wings and gem - snitch crown(Etsy)). She was talking to the man with blonde hair wearing a white tunic with matching pants and boots and a blue coat. By the look of it, they are having fun. (FFXIV Alphinaud Leveilleur outfit). He sighed and looked for his brother, he saw Ardyn with someone, a woman dressed in a white dress with blonde hair near the bouquet table drinking wine. While his parents Vincent and Lucrecia Izunia were standing in front of the royal throne and were busy talking to the village elders and other leaders from all over Eos. His eyes darted towards the throne, there were two grand staircases leading to the red throne above it was a mosaic of their family crest. Below the throne in the middle of the grand staircases was a beautifully elaborated ruby stone firepit with Ifrit's crystal hovering inside the raging fire. _

_He kept looking at Astraea in the distance, that's when Ardyn walked over to him with two wine glasses at hand._

_"Something on your mind, little brother?"Ardyn asked him as he handed the glass wine to him._

_"You know I don't drink, Big brother," Somnus said in a mocking tone._

_"Yeah… stop that…." Ardyn chuckled, "You calling me big brother is weird… " he stood beside him and looked at the crowd._

_"But you let Astraea call you that… Big Brother Addy…" Somnus said, mimicking Astraea's voice. _

_Ardyn spat the wine in his mouth and looked at Somnus. He just chuckled at the sight of it, Arydn soon followed._

_"Wow…" Ardyn sighed, "Astraea was grown into a fine young woman… I still remember it as if it was yesterday that she was just a small little girl clinging to us, asking just to let her join our hunt and now she is going to be married…"_

_"Yeah… she beat us to it… how about your brother? when you and Aera be married?"_

_Ardyn just chuckled and took a sip of wine, "Maybe after Astraea… or maybe after you find your fated one…" he paused and turned to his brother and grinned, "Hey Ashelia," Ardyn called someone from the other side of the room._

_Ashelia who was just standing near the bouquet table slowly walked towards them, she was wearing the same clothes as her distant cousin Aera Fleuret. She stopped and greeted both of them with a smile._

_"Good evening… Prince Ardyn… Prince Somnus…"_

_"Good evening Lady Ashelia, My brother here wanted to ask you for a dance, you will take his hand?"_

_"Wait...What! NO! I did not!" Somnus stammered his words._

_Just like Aera Fleuret, Ashelia had blonde hair but her eyes were gray. The smile in her eyes disappeared and was replaced by the sadness, "Oh… is that is so, I will take leave then," she started to walk away._

_"Wait!" Somnus grabbed her right hand, she was surprised by the sudden action from the prince and looked at him wide-eyed. He had the same reaction, he suddenly withdrew his hand and stood straight, "My apology I don't know what got into me," he bent his head slightly._

_Ashelia just chuckled a little, "It's okay your highness,"_

_"Good to hear…"_

_Both of them just stayed silent as Ardyn watched them. The elder brother lost his temper and whacked his younger brother in the back, "Go ask her for a dance, Prince Somnus," Ardyn said teasingly as he walked away._

_The raven-haired prince just glared at his brother back and looked back at Ashelia who was waiting for him, he cleared his throat and arranged his robe, "May I ask you for a dance, Lady Ashelia, and please call me Somnus..."_

_Ashelia smiled and reached for his hand, "It will be my honor, and please call me Ashelia… Somnus"_

_They both smiled at each other as they went into the middle of the room to dance._

**_... _**

Video faded to black as Somnus tried to keep a straight face, "As you saw, we were oblivious to the danger coming our way,"

"Excuse me…. Founder King" Aerith shyly raised her hand.

"Yes.. what is it Mrs. Lumina?"

"In your memory, Astraea was about to get married, did it happen?"

"No, it did not…" Reno is the one who answered her as he stood up, "Because the very night, Elheim attacked Solheim and laid waste to the crown city and its people and Unf -."

The founder King continued Reno's words "Unfortunately Astraea's fiance died that night protecting her along with our parents," his eyes showed sadness as he lowered his head down.

Aerith held her down, "I'm sorry for your loss… dear king…"

"Thank you…" Somnus's stern voice became soft and gentle as he gazed towards the other people in the room, all giving him a small nod and while whispering their condolences. He nodded at them and he raised his head and composed himself again, "That night we did not just lose our parents but our city as well and Ifirit's crystal. After Diabolos took control of the Infernian, we tried to run to safety, for we were outnumbered and we cannot fight…"

Clarus is about to ask a question but Reno stopped him, "If you're gonna ask why we did not fight back, just like I said, the Solheim's people were peaceful people and don't like conflict and we were trying to get Astraea into safety."

"Why, what happened to her?" Aerith asked.

"Remember what Reno said about how Ifrit's crystal got destroyed ?" Somnus asked all of them, they all nodded so he continued, "When Ifrit's Crystal got destroyed the shock wave hit Astraea causing her to lose consciousness. We were forced to run away and Reno helped us escape to Nibelheim. We left her there and returned to Solheim,"

"And Astraea was what happened to her?" Regis asked.

"She went into a coma, while she was sleeping when we fought Diabolos and Elheim's army. In the middle of the war Bahamut granted us his blessing, we became his champions. With help of the other Astrals and our newfound power we were able to defeat Diabolos and ended the war after a year but…" he paused, the sphere projected the disk of Disc of Cauthess, "In the end, Solheim was destroyed and our people were scattered all over Eos, Yes...we won the battle but we lost the war," Somnus's hand turned into a fist.

Reno saw how affected the founder king was so he went and patted him on the back and smiled at him. The founder king just gave him a gentle smile and looked at the people in front of him, "Sorry about that...let me continue my story…"

"Your majesty, if it's too painful for you, you don't have to relive it," King Regis stated.

The former champion of Bahamut shook his head, "No, you must know what we've been through so that all of you would not commit the same mistake that we have," he looked at them with a softened expression, "It's fine, just like a said, I need to confess my sins…"

The room was filled with silence once again the only sound that can be heard was the crackling wood in the fireplace.

After a minute Somnus spoke again, "Let us continue…after the end of the war, Astraea finally woke up from her coma the same day as her birthday," The sphere lit up and started to show another memory.

**...**

_Both Somnus and Ardyn opened the double door at the same time and entered Astraea's chamber. The video showed static for a few seconds then it cleared. There they saw Astraea, sitting on the bed. Aera was sitting on her right side while Reno was standing beside Aera. _

_"Ardyn?... Somnus?..." Astraea eyed them from head to foot. A look of bewilderment can be seen in her face. _

_"Astraea, finally you're awake…" Somnus walked towards the round bed and sat down at the right side. He gently stroked her right cheek, "You had us worried, are you okay?" _

_Astraea survived his face before answering him, " Yes, I'm fine brother, but...what happened to you?" She cupped her brother's face with both hands._

_"What do you mean Astraea?" Somnus asked while Ardyn sat down at the other side of the bed._

_"Well, you two…" she glanced at both of them, "You changed… and your eyes what happened to them?"_

_Before they could answer Reno spoke up. "Lord Ardyn, Lord Somnus can we talk outside?" Both brothers turned towards him. Reno's eyes seemed serious so they both stood up and walked towards the door, "Wait here, Lady Astraea, we will talk for a bit…" he bowed down. _

_They left Astraea in the care of Aera while they talked outside her chamber. There they find Gilgamesh guarding the door. All four of them gathered together._

_"Did you tell her what happened?" Somnus asked as Reno closed the door behind them._

_"That's the problem I'm about too but…" he looked at the brothers, "She...lost her memory…"_

_"What?" Ardyn's calm voice raised up._

_"Astraea lost all of her memory of the last five years..." _

_"So… what do we do now... Should we tell her?" Somnus turned to his brother._

_Ardyn shook his head, "No… let her forget… After all, we all want to forget the dreadful past. Let her start over… is for the better…"_

_"But Ardyn she was to known what happened,"_

_Ardyn looked at him, "Okay then… but let me change a few details okay? She doesn't have to remember all of it right?" All of them nodded, "Well then… let us break it to her gently," Ardyn opened the door and walked in and all three followed him. The memory started to fade to black._

**…**

"Wait...you said they attacked during her birthday so…" Aerith gazed sadly at the founder king, "Which means the king and queen died that day too?" Aerith asked as the video faded to black.

Reno sighed, "Unfortunately yes... But even with that... Astraea never surrendered and looked forward to the future with hope. The sphere started to light up again this time, it's his memory.

**...**

_Reno's fingers turned into talons and tightened into a fist while looking at siblings. Astraea was hugging his older brother deeply because Ardyn just revealed to her what happened. About how their father became Ifrit's Champion and the king of Solheim, how they became the royal family and about the betrayal of the people of Elheim. How the War of the Astrals started with the death of their parents and the destruction of their homeland. Astraea cried for a good 10 minutes and her sweeping filled the entire room and the hallway. Both brothers comforted her and told her that everything will be alright and they will always be with her and they will never leave her. After she calmed down they revealed to her about Bahamut's blessing and their new ability and their mission as the warriors of Light and that is why their eyes are blue because of Bahamut's blessing and they have to protect everyone from the darkness. He also said to her that Bahamut granted them a family name so that they can start a new life and a new beginning._

_"Wait so… we're Caelum now?" she asked_

_"Yes as of now… I'm Ardyn Lucis Caelum," he turned to his younger brother, "Sommy here will be Somnus Lucis Caelum," he then looked her in the eye, "And you will be Astraea Lucis Caelum,"_

_Astraea pondered for a bit and frowned, "But I like Izunia… can still use it? After all, I'm not Bahamut's Champion."_

_Ardyn and Somnus gazed at each other then back to their sister, "Are you defying Bahamut's orders Astraea?"Somnus asked in a stern voice._

_Astraea smiled at him, "Have you forgotten brother… I don't like following orders, and besides…" she put her right hand to her heart, "I know The Draconian means well, he wants us to start fresh to forget the bad and terrible things that have happened… In fact, I can't even remember anything…" she smiled then she put her head down, "But… I don't want to forget…" she started to cry, "I don't want to forget about them, about our people, about our homeland… about Solheim… so I want to remain as Izunia… Astraea Lucis Izunia…" she gazed at her brother smiling bitterly while tears poured down her cheeks, "That is the only thing I can do for them… I want to live our Father's legacy as Ifrit's Champion... would you let me brother?" still smiling bitterly. _

_Both brothers were surprised by their sister's sentiment, they looked at each other. Both were silent as they gazed at each other's blue eyes. Both of them know what to answer with that they turned to their little sister._

_"Our little star..." Ardyn patted her on the top of her head, she was still crying so he smiled at her, " Don't cry Astraea," he wiped the tears away, "Yes, you can...you can still be an Izunia…" _

_"Our father and mother will be proud of you, Astraea…" Somnus added and he held her hand together and stroked it gently, "Continue the Izunia Legacy Astraea… and remember we will be here for you,"_

_Astraea saw the gentle and warm smiles of her brothers, even if she did not like it, she broke down again and hugged them both._

_"Shhh… don't cry, Astra…" Both brothers said in unison and rubbed circles in her back. _

_After a minute Astraea was able to calm down and sit up straight. She wiped her tears away and smiled at her brother, "Thank… Addy… Sommy… I promise I won't let you down,"_

_"I know you won't," Ardyn smiled at her._

_"And besides, if Bahamut wanted me to use the name Caelum… he should have given me his blessing too right?" she smiled brightly._

_"Well sorry Astraea… Bahamut doesn't want a champion just like yourself… a hard-headed and spontaneous child like yourself," Ardyn said while smiling, "Maybe if you will act and talk and dress like a princess he will grant it to you…"_

_"Did I act like that back in Solheim during our father's reign?" _

_"No…" Somnus crossed his arms, "In fact, you cause a lot of trouble back then,"_

_"Trouble?" she turned to him._

_"Yup, being the most stubborn, restless and troublesome little sister ever!" Somnus flicked his finger at her forehead._

_"Hey that hurt!" she said while rubbing her forehead, "I'm not that troublesome right Big brother Adyy?" she turned to him and smiled widely._

_"Nope, you are… because of that our people called you the Fire maiden, because you're impulsive, rebellious and especially a pain in the butt," Ardyn chuckled loudly and ruffled her hair with both hands._

_"Hey stop that!" Astraea warned, but her older brother continued, "Last warning, Ardyn Lucis Caelum!" he continued, she suddenly stood still in bed and grabbed him by the collar of his robe and threw him over her shoulder towards the other side of the bed, Somnus was not able to avoid his brother and their bodies collided. They both were thrown into the ground and fell flat in their faces. Astraea jumped down from the bed and landed near them and pointed a finger at them, "Don't you ever ruffle my hair like that ever again brother! Same goes for you Somnus, Don't even touch my HAIR!"_

_Both brothers prompted themselves by their elbows and gazed at their sister, both glanced at each other for a bit and then burst out laughing. She followed soon and lunged down at them. They were able to catch her and they all shared a deep embrace._

_Reno smiled as he saw how happy the siblings are, his worry had been lifted as he saw Astraea is doing fine. He walked and bent down towards the sibling, "Excuse me, Princess?" The trio turned to him, "Do you still remember me?" Astraea gazed at his eyes, Reno knew that she must have forgotten him after he was Ifrit's messenger and their father's guardian during the Solheim reign. Astraea blinked several times, she reached her hand towards his face. He did not back away and let Astraea's hand caress both his cheeks, then Astraea suddenly stretched his cheek wide, "Ouch..ouch...ouch!_

_She laughed and released him, "What do you mean, Reno… we've always been partners in crime back then, right? My little Chocobo, have you forgotten our little adventure atop of Mount Ravatogh" she smiled at him. _

_Reno's eyes widened, he forgot about that, he had always been beside her even back then, even before Ifrit decided to grant his blessing. After all, they met each other after Astraea went and climbed Mount Ravatogh when she was only ten years old, "Yes… how can I forget about that… the girl who climbed the forbidden volcano and brought a phoenix down and made him his pet.."_

_"Yup...That's me but you're not my pet, you're my friend," she touched him below his eyes where his tattoos are located … "So why are you human? Do you have the ability to turn into a human?" _

_The guardian shook his head, "No.. and how do you know it was me?"_

_"Your eyes…" she said, "Your beautiful blue eyes gave you away…so how about it why are you human?"_

_Reno smiled, "They never did tell you about the guardians right?"_

_"Guardian?" _

_He sighed and explained to her that he is now Ifrit's messenger and the guardian of the champion of Ifrit's who was her late father, but now he masterless and still waiting for the next champion of Ifrit, that the reason why he can turn into a human for the God of fire granted it to him, "Maybe you will be the next, Astraea after all your nickname is the Fire maiden."_

_"That will be awesome!" she shrieked in excitement, "Where do I sign up?"_

_"Nope!" Ardyn suddenly grabbed her by the collar of her dress and hoisted her up, "You're not doing that."_

_"Why? It would be awesome if I became Ifrit's champion. I can be like you…"_

_"Yes..it would be great but you are still recovering, you must rest…" Ardyn put her down and patted her on the head, "And beside Ifrit's flames is not needed right now."_

_"Our brother is right Astraea," Somnus put a hand on her shoulder, "You must rest…" _

_She pouted and crossed her arms, "Fine… but I and Bahamut will have a serious talk after I recover…"_

_All of them laughed at her declaration. Suddenly Carbuncle appeared on Ardyn's shoulder, "Hello there, Princess Astraea," the fox guardian bowed to her. " I'm Carbuncle and I'm your brother's guardian and Bahamut's messenger, I can deliver your messages to him right now if you want."_

_What! No! I'm kidding," she shouted while waving her hands in the air. "Please don't do that! I want to live!" _

_They all laughed at her action. _

_Reno chuckled, 'You never did change Astraea..' he thought as he continued to smile at his master._

_The memory started to fade into black again and the sphere turned off._

**…**

"You're truly close, Your majesty…" Dave said.

"Yes… yes, we are…" a warm smile ran across the founder King's face, "Even with our age gap, we are very close to each other I and my brother are the ones who taught Astraea how to use a sword. She is the only one who can match our skills. She even defeated the two of us in a duel one time, back on Solheim…" He chuckled as he remembered those memories.

"How can she be that positive despite what happened?" Clarus asked

"We don't know… she has always been like that ever since she was little, she never let anything stop her being happy and making people around her feel the same way, she is our shining star in the dark night."

"You're truly blessed to have her, Founder King," Regis said and smiled at him.

He returned the smile, "Yes… we are… and please Your Majesty, you can Somnus,"

"Then call me Regis then,"

Somnus nodded, "Okay then let us continue… After the war the Astral Eos was peaceful again, we started to rebuild our lives.

**...**

The sphere lit up again and started to show another memory. It was Somnus's memory again.

He and Ardyn were riding their Chocobo in a hurry, dodding huge rocks and climbing over rock ledges and columns to get to their destination. After arriving where their homeland used to exist. They found their sister with Reno in his Chocobo form, sitting at the one to the rock ledge overlooking the huge crater and the glowing blue meteor. They both sighed in relief to see their sister safe and sound. Somnus kicked the side of his white Chocobo to make it walk forward. As he moved closer he noticed Astraea was leaning on Reno's body. The guardian raised his head towards him.

He glared at the red Chocobo as he disembarked his Chocobo and started to walk towards them, "What do you think you're doing Reno!" he hissed at him.

Before Reno could answer, Astraea rose up and turned to him, "Don't be angry with Reno… it's my fault I asked him to bring me here, so yell at me, Somnus,"

He stopped and glared at her, he about to lecture her but he noticed that she was crying, his anger faded and he walked slowly towards her and bent down, "Are you okay? We told you not to come here…" he wiped her tears away.

"I just want to see personally, that all.." she turned towards the meteor, "I know that the meteor destroyed our homeland but it is quite beautiful don't you think…" she turned to him.

He just sighed and patted her in the head, "Yes… it's beautiful…" he smiled sadly at her. Astraea smiled back but her tears kept falling so she buried her face in his robe and cried her eyes out. Somnus hugged her protectively as his tears fell too, he felt Ardyn knelt beside them, Ardyn then hugged them both engulfing them with his white cape all of them cried in silence. Reno turned into his human form and let them be.

As the sun started to set the trio was still sitting at the ground looking at the meteor. Astraea was in the middle, Somnus was on her right while Ardyn was on her left. The three of them were silent watching the sun fade away on the horizon.

"Astra...," Ardyn whispered her name.

"Yes, brother?" she answered without looking at him.

"Would you sing for us? We miss your voice…" Ardyn said with a warm smile.

"Of course, I will be honored to sing for the warriors of light…" she smiled and stood up and walked forward and turned to them. She is gracefully curtsy to them. Both brothers chuckled in amusement. Astraea's crimson eyes glared at them in an instant. They both bottled upright and stopped laughing and looked at her in a serious face but their lips kept twitching as they held laughter in. Astraea just shrugged her shoulders and stood straight up, she took a deep breath and started to sing. (Final Fantasy XIII - "Promise" - Serah's Theme | ENGLISH ver | AmaLee). After she finished her song she looked down at her brother, to see both of them crying. Both brothers just smiled at her sadly.

"Thank you… our little star… for giving us hope and for giving us our light," Ardyn said as he stood up and hugged her.

Somnus stood up and said, "Promise us that you will never let that light fade within you Astraea…" his siblings broke their embrace and they both looked up to him.

"I promise…. but promise me too and we three will always be together…"

Both brothers nodded and the trio hugged each other. Under the light of the stars.

…

Back at the king chambers, Regis could feel the emotion of the founder king, and because of their connection to Cor and Clarus could feel it too. Somnus noticed it and glanced at them.

"Sorry…"

All of them looked up at him, "Sorry for what? Somnus?" Regis asked.

"My past emotion is affecting you… I never intended it," he lowered his head down.

"You don't have to apologize, Somnus, and It's okay…your emotions are lovely, the bond of siblings is truly amazing, I envy that for I never had that connection."

Somnus chuckled, but even though he was smiling they still felt and saw the pain in his eyes, "Is that so?" he glanced at everybody, "I glad you can see it that way, but I will apologize for the future emotion all of you will see or feel…" he stayed silent for a few seconds and spoke again, "Well then let us continue…" Everyone stayed silent and nodded in agreement.

"One month after Astraea woke up, we were living in Nibelheim with our remaining people. The people of Nibelheim accepted us and gave us accommodation inside their royal palace.

"Why is that?" Dave asked.

"Well, Nibelheim and Solheim were allies back then," Reno stepped forward and looked at him, "And their leaders were our close friends but the real reason why the Nibelheim people are very welcoming is because of Astraea" he turned to Somnus, the founder king just smiled and nodded at him, he chuckled a little.

This earned a few bewildered looks from everyone, "Astraea?" Aerith asked. "Why her?"

Reno happily turned to her, "Well remember Astraea's fiance?" they all nodded, "Well he is the son of the leader of Nibelheim,"

"So that means if Astraea got married she will be their queen?"

"Yup," the guardian smiled but his smile faded, "But unfortunately that did not happen, but the people of Nibelheim still accepted her as their own, with that they accepted her brothers as well.

The sphere started to glow and showed the guardian memory this time.

**...**

_He and Astraea were standing in one of the rooms inside the palace, they were standing and looking at the picture of Solheim(FF12 The Royal City of Rabanastre) her eyes widened in how magnificent their kingdom was._

_"It's amazing! I never imagined our little Solheim could turn into that…" she said while touching the painting._

_"It really is..." he walked beside her._

_She sighed, "It's just a shame I can't remember it."_

_"Do worry Astraea you will someday…" the guardian turned to her. She just smiled at him. Then she turned around to look at the family crests. She saw the Izunia family crest beside it was the family crest of her late fiance (FFXIV white mage healing gauge). She walked slowly towards it and touched the canvas._

_"So… Do you remember him?" Reno walked beside her again._

_She shook her head, "Just a little, my memory of Solheim started to fade… I feel it inside my heart," she put her hand to her heart, "We truly love each other..."_

_"Of course you do! You two would not have been engaged if that is not the case and he truly loves you..."_

_"Really?" she turned to him._

_"Yes, Princess Astraea…" a female voice said, they both turned towards a door to see a female with blonde hair and blue eyes walking towards them._

_"Lady Rosa…" Reno bowed down to her._

_"Rosa please stop calling me princess… I don't like it,"_

_"Sorry…" she chuckled, "But Reno was right… my brother loves you, he waited for 5 long years for your answer..." she stopped beside the princess, "He was very happy when you finally said yes… that was the happiest day of his life..."_

_Astraea just lowered her head down, "I'm sorry…" she whispered, "I'm sorry because of me he and your father died,"_

_Rose grabbed her both hands and raised up, "You should not blame yourself Astraea, my brother would not like that…"_

_She nodded and smiled, "Thank you, Rosa, I promise to keep your brother's love with me…"_

_"Then you should change your family name Astraea and become their queen…" Ardyn said as he walked towards them, behind him were Somnus, Gilgamesh, and Aera. She scowled at her brother, her brother just chuckled at the sight of it._

_"Queen Astraea Izunia Scientia the sound to be right," Somnus added. _

**…**

"SCIENTIA!" Royal advisor Scientia!" Aerith stood up, the video stopped.

"Yup!" Reno said while smiling wide, "The Scientia family has always been friends with the Izunia… and now the Caelum, looks like the bond did not fade right, founder king?"

"Yes… the Scientia family has always been there for us, helping us all the way even giving us their own homeland…" The video resumed again.

**…**

_"Nope...nope… nope…!" Astraea waves her hand in the air. "I will not do that!"_

_"Why? Cloud would want that… after all, your his queen," Ardyn said teasingly._

_Astraea continued to glare at him instead of being angry she composed herself and stood straight. "Even if I want to, I can't not…"_

_"Why? Rosa asked, "We can give you the title if you want, our people will accept that."_

_She looked at Aera who's standing beside Ardyn and she glanced at the portrait of Bahamut, "Well because of the Bahamut's"_

_"Bahamut's? They all asked in unison._

_"Yes, have you forgotten, Bahamut gave his blessing to both of you. That means one of you will be picked as King that will lead us in the future with that I can't be the queen," she smiled._

_"Astraea is right, that's what Bahamut told me…" Aera stated., "The crystal will pick the future ruler of this land and guild Eos back into the light."_

_"See!" she pointed at her brother, "So for the good of the people. I will step down and give it to the two of you."_

_"If that is so you should help us," Somnus interjected, "I and Ardyn are still undergoing Bahamut's trial. Until then the throne is empty so we should help each other to lead the people," he looked at everyone. _

_"Okay then… but unlike you I don't have any ability so I will stick on creating my potions," Astraea stated._

_"Don't belittle your skill, Astraea, your potions have been a great help," Rosa pointed out._

_"Rosa is right," Reno said, "Continue that and maybe in the future you will become Ifrit's new champion._

_"I hope so…" _

_They all felt silent until Gilgamesh spoke, "So what name should we give this new kingdom?" They looked at each other in silence._

_Suddenly Astraea piped up, "How about Lucis?"_

_"Lucis?" you want to use our Mother's family name?" Somnus asked._

_"Yeah… after all, Bahamut let you keep it… The Kingdom of Lucis…"_

_"The sound about right…" Ardyn said, "The great kingdom of Lucis where everyone is welcome…"_

_"Yes, the new kingdom will give hope to the people," Astraea paused then turned to Rosa, "Oh! We sorry Rosa, this is your family's land sorry…"_

_Rose just smiled, "It's okay… my father and brother will approve of that. I and the people of Nibelheim will follow all of you, your Highnesses," she bowed to them._

_"Okay then settle it," Ardyn announced, "For this day onwards this will be the Kingdom of Lucis," he looked at everyone one, they all nodded at him. Then all of them turned towards the portrait of the Six._

_"Solheim's reign might have ended but…" Astraea whispered softly, "Let us believe that this is not the beginning of the end. It is the beginning of new hope we have created." They all smiled and nodded at her._

_"Well then... Astraea... tell the people that…"Ardyn said and turned around, "Gilgamesh gathered all the people, our princess… he turned to her, "Astraea Lucis Izunia will make an announcement!" The future shield bowed down and turned around and walked out the door._

_"Shall we, my love?" Ardyn held a hand towards Aera, she took it and they followed Gilgamesh out the door. _

_"I will send a carrier to the other leaders of the lands to let them know," Rosa said and went out the door. _

_Astraea did not move. Somnus saw how stunned her sister was. He chuckled and patted her on the shoulder, "Go change into a proper dress, Astraea...you will announce it to the people," with that Somnus went out and left her still stupefied. She blinked several times to let the information sink in, she slowly turned towards Reno. He just smirked at her._

_"I'm GOING TO DO WHAT!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, "NO! Addy! Sommy! You do it!" She went after her brother. Reno just chuckled as he ran his hand through his bangs and followed his future master._

_"I loved to see Astraea make a speech..." he murmured to himself as he closed the door and the video faded to black._

**...**

"Wait?... Cloud Scientia..." Aerith murmured, "He is connected to the current Scientia family?"

Reno chuckled, "You mean Specky… he not just connected with but he is him," they all looked at him with a surprised expression.

Somnus gazed at him, "Are you sure it's him?"

The guardian just smiled at him, "Yup, it's him even if his appearance was changed it's still him," he snapped his fingers then the sphere lit up and showed a portrait of Cloud Scientia (Medieval Monarch Cloud Strife (Fanart by HaleyHylia)). "I want to introduce to you... Cloud Scientia, Astraea's fiance. Before he died he promised her that he will come back and that they will meet again, looks like he fulfilled that promise." The sphere showed how Astraea and Ignis met three days ago, how they looked at each other's eyes. "Looks like their hearts know who they are… It's all a matter of time for them to remember each other… the red string of fate has never been cut."

"Its Destiny…" Carbuncle spoke after being silent the whole time, _"It said some lives are linked across time. Connected by an ancient calling that echoes through the ages. Destiny,"_

"I just hope their destiny this time will not be the same last time…" Somnus added, then he gazed towards him, "Reno…"

"Yes,"

"Kept an eye on the boy…" Somnus said in a stern voice.

"Oh come… even now your still an overprotective brother,"

"Always…" they both looked at each other then burst out laughing. The people around them just looked at them in bewilderment.

**…**

In the prince chamber, Ignis was too busy reading the report and the new order of the king in the prince's study when suddenly he sneezed, "Ahh-choo!" his eyeglasses drop to the floor.

"Here you go, and bless you… Ignis."

"Oh thank you Prompto, why are you still here? you have school tomorrow,"

"Well, I can't leave my best friend alone…can I sleep here again?" the blonde turned towards the sleeping prince.

"Fine…can you sleep on the sofa again? we don't have any available room."

"Yup, It's okay, also as I can guard Noct, I will be fine…"

His Highness is truly blessed to have you as a friend Prompto…"

"Thanks…" Prompto replied shyly, "You know if you sneeze one time, they said someone is talking about you."

"It's that so… I don't believe it is such a myth," Ignis said as he continued to read the report.

"Don't waste your time with Iggy, Prompto he is always serious," Gladio called out from the living room, "Come on, teach me how to play this new game so that if the prince wakes up we can play together."

"Okay coming!" he answered back, "But you know Ignis you should believe in that myth after all we all live in a world full of magic," Prompto said and went back to Gladio.

Ignis just sighed, then he pulled something out of his pocket. A red ribbon, the same red ribbon that belongs to Astraea. He picked it up three days ago during Diablos attack and he never did return it, '_I should return this…' _he thought and stood up.

"Hey, where are you going!" Prompto called out.

"Got something to take care off, I will be back in a few minutes."

Ignis closed the door behind him and went to Astraea room, when he arrived he noticed the same three glaives that were inside the council room back then guarding the hallway.

"Evening…" he greeted them, "Is Sir Sinclair inside?"

"Sorry but no.. he was meeting with the king," Nyx answered him.

"It's that so… can I go inside? I have something to return…"

The glaives looked at each other and nodded Nyx and Libertus opened the double door for him.

"Thank you," Ignis said as he walked in, the double door closed behind him. He walked towards the living room to find it empty. Then he turned towards the bedroom, the sliding door was closed. He went towards it and slowly opened the door. There he saw Astraea sleeping soundly at the bed. Her long black laid flat at each shoulder. He saw the comforter was not properly covering her body. So he went beside her bed and fixed it and tuck her in. Leaning down he gazed at her face, it was serene and beautiful like looking at a portrait of a goddess. Ignis did not know why he was very astounded by her, every time he saw her his heart pounded inside his chest.

'Beautiful…' he thought while tucking a hair of her behind her ear, Astraea whimpered a bit, then he lowered his face down towards her, his lips mere inches from her. Suddenly a bird flew across the closed balcony. He backed away, hitting his back against the dresser, '_What are you doing Ignis!'_ he screamed at himself, as he regained his composure. He took the red ribbon from his pocket and placed it on the nightstand and went towards the sliding door and closed it but he stopped and gazed at Astraea, his heart pounded again. He shook his head and closed the sliding door gently and went out the double door. Outside he took a deep breath and arranged his glasses.

"Something wrong Sir, Scientia?" Crowe asked.

"Nothing… thank you for your service…" he thanked them and walked away.

The trio just gave each other a perplexed look and continued to guard the hallway.

**…**

Back at the council room, Both Reno and Somnus stopped laughing and composed themselves.

"I hope they find happiness this time," Somnus whispered.

"They will..." Reno said.

Somnus then stood straight and looked at the people around them, "Sorry about that... let us continue... all you saw are just the beginning of our new life... Now I will show you how one miracle changed our life for the better and for the worst."

As the clock struck midnight the Founder King story had just begun. King Regis, Aerith, Cor, Clarus, and Dave ready themselves for the next wave of emotion that is coming their way.

* * *

_**A/N****: **_Okay I know my story is now drifting away from the Canon of the story, especially the past of the siblings, but I promise you it will be connected And Rosa Scientia is Rosa Joanna Farrell( FFIV) and Ashelia is Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca(FFXII) they will appear in later chapters. This story is an OC X Ignis pairing so I will make the Scientia family more important. I want Cloud to appear in this story so I made him Ignis's past life. After all, Sepiroth will be appearing in the story as well and that is the main reason why I chose Tifa Lockhart's appearance for my OC for I really like Final Fantasy 7 and it's characters.

THANK YOU! I hope you enjoy this and have a wonderful day and keep safe!✩


	20. Chapter 18

_**A/N: **_the first scene was taken from Episode Ardyn. I just made a few adjustments.

* * *

**Recalling of the Past: The Cursed Blessing  
**_"No matter how many good deeds you perform, your past sins cannot be erased" -Sheele (Akame ga Kill!)_

* * *

Silence filled the room again the sound of the fire crackling and the ticking clock is the only sound that can be heard. The people here waiting for the founder king to speak. He had been silent for three minutes straight. For he is battling, his inner daemon as he remembered the last time he saw his dear brother. It was 15 years ago when Ardyn attacked the Crown city with Ifrit. The Adagium was able to defeat the young King Regis and he was forced to intervene. He did not know why he said those awful things to his brother.

_**...**_

_"You were tainted - unfit to sit the throne," Somnus said in his Lucii form while fighting with Ardyn. "Please brother. Return to the darkness where you came._

_"Now? But I'm having so much fun!" Ardyn replied sarcastically, "To think I'll get the pleasure of killing you myself," They continue to fight, "What's wrong dear brother? Too afraid to put down your expensive toy and come face me yourself," Ardyn continued to mock him, "Let the game begin!"_

_"This is no beginning… only the end….. This is preposterous! How could one so impure possess such power!? I was right to have you sealed away… You are truly a monster brother!" _

_He did not know why he acted like that knowing the truth about Ardyn and how he became the Adagium. Anger took him, that's the reason why Ardyn was able to defeat him with the help of the Infernian. _

_"I did to you was unforgiving. But I did it for the future of our kingdom- of our people" he said while he returned to his human form._

_"A small sacrifice for the good of society, How noble!"_

_"Our line has done everything in our power to protect our people… just as the gods bade. I was merely fulfilling my calling." the founder king said while kneeling on the ground._

_Ardyn chuckled, "... And here I thought I was the blessed one, but it was you all along,"_

_"I dare not ask your forgiveness, but I do ask for your understan__ding, I did it for As-"_

_Ardyn did not let him finish and shouted at him "WHAT?! You took everything from me… EVERYTHING… and you ask, my understanding!?"_

_He stopped for he remembered that Ardyn won't remember their sister, after all, her existence was erased. What remained of Ardyn's memory is how he took the crown from him. He wanted to tell him the truth about Astraea but he did not for Astraea still needed protection from him, from Diabolos. So he looked at his brother with sadness for he can't do anything for him, he needs to wait for the King of Light and for his sister to come back to save him and the Eos._

_"I pray your soul find repose… Brother…" Somnus softly said while his spirit disappeared._

**…**

"Somnus?"

"Master…"

He snapped from his trance as he heard the worried voice of the two guardians. He gazed at them, "My apologies…" he bent his head slightly. Reno and Cally looked at each other then back at the founder king.

"Somnus…" Reno whispered, "You don't have to do this… let me…"

"No… I have to do this… I have to commit, for I have learned _no matter how many good deeds you perform, your past sins cannot be erased._ I need to do this Reno… so let me…" Somnus sincerely said.

The red-haired guardian just backed away and gave the founder king his space.

The people inside the room just stayed silent.

"Now where are we…" Somnus asked.

"You're going to tell them about Ardyn's blessing," Cally faintly answered.

He looked at him, "Yes… thank you, Cally," he patted her on the head, "Lets us continue… After six months of peace, Diabolos attacked again and plunged the Eos into the darkness with the help of Miasma. Daemons started appearing again and a new plague emerged that can turn humans and animals into daemons. We named it the Starscourge," he explained, "At first we don't know what to do. We are able to defeat and kill the daemons, But every day new daemons appear and everyday people turn into daemons. Eos was plunged into chaos once more and the night got longer and longer." The sphere showed a dark sky above the island of Angelgard.

"The people started to lose hope but something happened…" Somnus paused, "For us to defeat the darkness Bahamut granted my brother, Ardyn, a blessing with which he can cure those people infected with the Starscourge." the sphere lit up again and showed his memory.

**…**

_Ardyn, Gilgamesh, Reno, and Somnus were standing in the rain outside the town of Nibelheim guarding a makeshift open tent where Astraea, Aera, and Rosa were helping the wounded soldiers, dressing their wounds. Suddenly they heard an old wooden carriage speeding towards them and it stopped a few feet from them. A man stepped out and took someone out from the back._

_"Lord Somnus… Lord Ardyn Please help us!" A man pleaded and kneeled in front of the sibling._

_"What wrong?" Ardyn walked towards them._

_"My daughter... she's infected with the scourge… please save her," The father removed the cloth covering his daughter. The child's skin is now covered with black tendrils all over her body and whimpering form the pain._

_Ardyn eyes widened, "I can heal her, please take her inside…" Ardyn said and guided the father inside the tent. _

_Somnus grabbed his right arm, "Brother… you don't have to do this… she's not important."_

_Ardyn pulled his arm away, "It's my duty and calling Somnus... just stand guard," _

_Somnus's blue eyes followed his brother inside the tent, the father sent down his daughter in one of the vacant rugs on the ground. Astraea went towards them in a hurry and ready to apply first aid but Ardyn stopped her._

_"Astraea, do not touch her… she's infected," she backed away and left Ardyn to do his work. Ardyn kneeled on the ground and held his right hand above the child, he murmured something under his breath after his hand glowed, the child cried in pain as the Starscourge started to leave her body, a black mist went into Ardyn's hand absorbing it. A few seconds later the child opened her eyes. The father rejoiced and hugged his daughter,"_

_"Thank you, dear Healer… thank you… thank you…" the man said while bowing on the ground._

_"You don't have to thank me, dear sir, I'm just doing what the Astrals called me to do," the healer stood up, "Astra please tend to them…"_

_She nodded and started to tend to their wounds. Somnus saw everything for his eyes did not leave his brother, he saw how Ardyn hid his hand in the sleeves on his healer robe and walked towards them again, "Are you okay brother?" he asked, eyeing Ardyn's hand._

_"Yes, I'm okay," he smiled at him, "Let go back into town, Gigalmesh take the lead,"_

_The future shield bowed down and walked away._

**…**

"Lord Ardyn has the same blessing as the Oracle?" Aerith asked.

"Yes, he was able to heal the one infected with the scourge, but unlike the current oracle it comes with a price," Somnus said as he gazed sadly at the video, "For me, it's a cursed blessing."

**…**

_The two siblings, Astraea and Somnus disembarked their Chocobos and led them in the stable. Reno just turned into his human form and helped Astraea with her things. _

_"Brother let Astraea take a look at your hand," He turned towards his older brother to find him slumped against Aquila before he could go to him, his body fell down the ground hard, "Ardyn!" he shouted at him and ran towards him. Astraea and Reno were not far behind._

_Somnus cradled his brother's body, "Brother!" he cried his name, "Reno helped me get him inside," Reno did what the founder king said, Both of them carried Arydn's unconscious body inside the palace and towards his chamber, they set him down on his bed. Astraea ran beside her brother and lifted the sleeves to find his whole arm cover with the scourge. She put her hand to cover her mouth to avoid herself from screaming. The doors burst open Aera, Rosa, and Gilgamesh arrived. The saw the scourge on Ardyn arms, a sheer look of terror can be seen in their faces. Aera suddenly went to Ardyn's bedside and caressed his face. _

_"Ardyn… My love can you hear me…" he did not answer._

_"This is what I told him, he can't just heal anyone!" Somnus shouted as he paced back and front._

_"We can't blame him, Lord Somnus. It's his duty to heal the people," Aera said holding Ardyn's left hand._

_"Yes! For him to be corrupted instead!" Somnus can't stop himself from shouting._

_"Brother…" Astraea went to him and held his trembling hand, "I know you worried about our brother, please stay calm, your action is just making it worse,"_

_Her sister was right, so he calmed down and took a seat on one of the chairs on the table. They waited for hours for Arydn to wake up, after waking up the scourge had disappeared in his arm and his back to normal. Their worry was lifted Astraea hugged her brother, "Please Addy don't ever do that again…" _

_"Sorry for making you worry Astra, I promise I won't do that again…" he said and looked at his younger brother. Instead of a smile, he was confronted with a scowl. Then without a word Somnus left the room with Gilgamesh and the video faded._

_**...**_

_"You see my brother absorbed the scourge in his body taking the sickness with him,"_

_"So that means Lord Ardyn can be corrupted by Diabolos and turned into a daemon?"_

_"Yes, he can…" he gazed at the Marshal, "But Ardyn never once buckled under the darkness, he never let us know what he was feeling either. But I can see that the starscourge was affecting him making him weak." he paused and glanced around the room, "My brother wanted to save everyone that was infected by the plague, but he can't, his body can't take so much even with that he traveled the land searching and healing people who were infected by the plague with the Oracle. He left me in charge of Nibelheim, every night the daemon came and attacked the town to kill and slaughter our people. I learned from our past that we can't just sit around and wait so I created an army and with that army, we were able to defend the town but it was not enough, every day their number increase because of the scourge," he summoned his swords, the sword of the mystic, "Ardyn and I have different ways with dealing the scourge especially with the infected, for me, we need order and restriction. Ardyn, on the other hand, wanted compassion and kindness. So as his fellow warrior of light I did what I have to do…" he glanced at his hands, he tightened his grip on his sword. The sphere lit up again and showed his memory._

_**... **_

_Somnus was talking to his second in command who was Gilgamesh, there were inside the command room and looking at the map of Eos and a few set-pieces that depicted the land they were able to conquer, it was laid across the trestle table._

_"So our next target is here," the mystic pointed at the map(Prairie Outpost), "I have heard from some merchants talking about a cave. They say that people who are infected by the scourge are taking refuge inside the cave. We need to take care of them before they turn. Prepare the army, let us take one hundred soldiers this time," Gilgamesh nodded, "We leave at sunset, make sure Astraea will not be informed of our activities, she does not have to know…"_

_"What do you mean Somnus?"_

_They both turned around to see Astraea beside the open door with Reno, "What are you hiding from me brother?" She closed the door and started to walk towards them, but she stopped when they heard a horn, signaling Ardyn's arrival. _

_Ardyn suddenly burst through the door, his white healer robe is now covered with dirt, his face full of facial hair, by the look of it he hasn't slept properly, Area was behind him chasing after him._

_Astraea eyes widened to see her older brother, It has been a month since the last time she saw him. They always ordered her to stay behind to tend to the sick. Even if she doesn't like it but she does have no choice, she can't fight like her brother. Yes she is good using a rapier but in face of the daemon, she will be weak and defenseless, she decided to stay at the palace and create her potions. She will then give it to Ardyn and Somnus for their trip. She ran towards the healer and greeted him with a smile, "Brother welcome back," Astraea went for a hug, but Ardyn went past her and went straight to Somnus._

_Somnus saw the look of anger in his brother. He knew that Ardyn had been informed of his action, even with that he greeted his brother, "Welcome back brother ho-"_

_He was cut off by Ardyn's punching him in the jaw. He stumbled back and knocked down a few of the set-piece and chalice from the table. The healer grabbed the collar of the robe of the Mystic and raised him to his feet, "Get up!" he hissed at him._

_"Brother!" Astraea shouted as she grabbed his right arm in the air as he was going to punch him again, "What was gotten into Ardyn! Please stop this!"_

_Ardyn pushed Astraea hard enough that she collided with the pillar, "Astraea!" Reno shouted as he ran towards her, he helped her up to her feet._

_Somnus pushed Ardyn away and ran to his sister, "Are you okay Astra?" she nodded, then he turned to his brother, his eyes glared at him, "What are you thinking! pushing Astraea like that!"_

_The Healer was surprised at first he was worried about her, but seeing her okay, he turned his attention back to his younger brother, his eyes glared at him too, "I'm that one who should be asking that question Somnus! What the hell have you been doing!" he shouted at him and took a step forward. Astraea went in front of them, stopping them from going after each other._

_"ENOUGH!" she shouted, he looked at Somnus first then Ardyn "What are you two talking about?!" _

_Ardyn's anger faded as he looked at his sister's eyes, "She does not know…"_

_"What do you mean… What is it?" she shouted while looking back and forth between the two brothers._

_"Ardyn...Brother… please don't… she does not have to know…" he pleaded._

_Astraea turned her full attention to him, "Brother? What did you do?" _

_"Remember that small town near the Longwythe Peak Astra?" Ardyn asked._

_"Yes..." her eyes not leaving her brother's face, "Reno and I went there a week ago to deliver some medicine, I found out that half of the population was infected by the scourge, so I sent a carrier for you brother…" she turned to Ardyn, "Did you receive it and are you able to heal them?"_

_"Yes, I received your letter but when we arrived there the town was no more."_

_"Wait… What!?" her eyes widened, "What happened, did the daemons attack them?"_

_"No, ask your dear older brother here, maybe he knows what happened…" Ardyn said, hissing at Somnus._

_Somnus's face dropped as he looked at his sister, "Sorry…. Sorry… I have no choice…" he paused and looked down at his feet, "They are infected… Ardyn will be too late so I…"_

_"What did you do!" she shouted at him._

_Somnus wrenched hearing her angry voice. He is always steadfast, strict and determined he never showed his weakness around people. This made him being respected and feared by the people. But like his older brother, he was one weakness and that is their sister. Before Astraea was born they would always fight each other but that stopped when Astraea was born. Starting that day they joined forces to protect their sister, their little star. He can take all the ridicule and cruel comments from people but seeing her like this is the only thing that can break his resolve. He does not want to see her cry, to see her sad but now he is the one making her like that so he stammered his words, "They… were… infected…"_

_"WHAT DID YOU DO!" Astraea eyes started to tear up._

_"Astra… calm down…" Ardyn put a hand on her shoulder, "I tell you…" she turned to him, "After arriving at the town we saw a pile of burned bodies, both daemon, and human alike… we investigated it and we found out that Somnus's army has been there and was responsible for doing that cruel act."_

_"What!?" she can't believe what she heard, she then turned to him, her eyes showing disbelief, "That is not true right Somnus" she grabbed his right hand with both hands, "Please tell you did not do that…"_

_Somnus's soft blue eyes glanced at her crimson one, "Yes…" he replied flatly, his sister's hand dropped to her side, "I have no choice, they are already infected! Ardyn was a week away if I let them live they will just turn into daemons and attack the nearby town, so I ended their-"_

_"Their life... is that it Somnus? you ended their life…" Ardyn said, glaring at him._

_He glared back, "No, their suffering I ended their suffering. As the Champion of Bahamut's, it's my duty and calling to protect our people from the darkness. I did what I have to do to save the lives of the many, we have to make sacrifices!"_

_"That is not our duty Somnus! our duty is to save everyone!"_

_"And how do we do that, Ardyn! I got a letter from Aera that you lose unconsciousness again brother! This time you slept for two days straight! So tell how you can save them all if your body can't take it anymore!"_

_Ardyn was taken aback, he gazed at his fiance, his eyes asking her why she told him that. Before Aera could answer Somnus spoke again this time his voice is higher than usual, "Besides they were corrupted for their hearts are weak! Their hearts are filled with negative emotions. We can't let Diabolos use that against us. A weak heart can't survive in this world, so I did what I had to do, to cut down those who are weak and unfaithful towards the Astral! This is my calling, for I'm a warrior of L-"_

_SLAP! The sound of Astraea hand slapping Someone's face filled the room._

**…**

Back at the King's chamber, Reno saw Somnus' right cheek starting to turn red, he chuckled, "Is it that strong?"

All of them stopped looking at the video which is now paused and looked at the founder King to see his right cheek was swollen, "Yes… is that strong…" Somnus touched his face as he remembered the feeling, "To be exact her slap is stronger than Ardyn's punch," he chuckled sadly, "She can pack a punch."

"Yeah…" the guardian smiled, "Astraea seem to be gentle and kind but she can take anything down by sheer will, that is what makes her dangerous, right shield?" Reno smirked at Clarus.

Clarus just glared at him, remembering the time Astraea was able to throw him on the ground, "Can we continue?"

Reno just smiled and turned towards the Mystic, Somnus nodded and the video resume.

**... **

_Somnus slowly turned his head towards her, to find her crying but her eyes were glaring at him, "You call yourself a warrior of Light Somnus!" she snapped at him, "A Warrior of light supposed to give hope not despair, to save lives not take them!" Somnus opened his mouth to speak but she did not let him, "You're just making it worse brother! The people will fear you now and they will lose their fate of Bahamut because one of its champions is killing people without giving them a second chance to live! You're not a warrior of light, you're just making Diabolos work easier… you're just like the daemons you despise,"_

_The people stayed silent as Astraea backed away from her brother. He just looked at her wide-eyed, not saying anything, for she was right. Before he could speak Astraea went marching out the room passing Ardyn and Aera, "RENO lets go! I want to see it myself!" _

_"Wait! what!" Reno said as he followed her, "We can't go it's too dangerous!"_

_"If you're not taking me, I will go alone!" she shouted at him, Reno just sighed in defeat and suddenly turned into his phoenix form she straddled him before anyone could say a word Reno flew out the door._

_"WAIT! ASTRA! It's too dangerous!" Aera shouted and she turned to her fiance, "Ardyn is already night time, the daemon might attack them!" _

_"Let go Aera, we need to follow them," he turned to his brother before leaving, "If anything happens to her it will be your fault, Somnus," he said in a disappointing tone,_

_Aera and Ardyn left the room slamming the door shut behind them. Somnus exhaled loudly and slumped his back against the pillar, he touched his face where Astraea slapped him a minute ago, "Is my action wrong Gilgamesh? I just want to protect our people… to protect her..." _

_Gilgamesh sighed and put a firm hand on the mystic shoulder, "Your thought is noble Somnus, but your action is not.." he looked at him in disbelief. Gilgamesh has always been on his side following his orders, but now Gilgamesh is starting to lose his faith in him, maybe fearing him as well as like Astraea said they would. The future shield saw this and smiled sadly at him, "But you are right, we can't save all of them, Somnus, we need to make sacrifices to save Eos. Your sibling will understand it someday. So follow what is in your heart Somnus… I will be at your side always."_

_"Thank you Gilgamesh…" he stood straight and arranged his robe, "Let go we need to go after Astraea…" _

_The future shield nodded and they went out the door and the video faded to black._

**…**

"See Regis… acting in mere instinct will only lead to trouble," he gazed at the King, "I learned it the hard way, I thought I was protecting them, but in the end, I ended up hurting them more," Another memory was being projected yet again.

**…**

_Somnus and Gilgamesh were walking in the stable, where they met up with Ardyn and Aera. The couple is now riding Aquila and ready to set out when another horn was blown this time signaling Daemon attacked. Ardyn kicked Aqualia's side, it made the Chocobo sprinted towards the entrance and out the town, Somnus and Gilgamesh followed and when they reached the entrance of the town they found a horde of daemons coming their way. Ardyn and Somnus don't have a choice but to work together to defeat the daemon. With the help of the Somnus's army, they were able to slaughter all the daemons. Both brothers without resting straddled their Chocobo and ready to set out to go to their sister but before they could go further, Reno suddenly crashed in front of them their eyes widened to see the guardian with several wounds and Astraea lying unconscious on his back. _

_"Astra!" Ardyn jumped down from Aquila and ran towards his sister. He cradled her body. He was surprised to see several cuts all over her body. "We need to take her back to the palace!" Ardyn shouted, "Reno are you okay? Can you take Aera!" Reno nodded and turned to his Chocobo form. He ran towards his Chocobo, But Somnus was in the way and tried to touch Astraea, "DON'T YOUR DARE!" he bared his teeth at him, "This is your fault, so don't you dare touch her,"_

_The Mystic backed away and let his brother take his sister away. Reno followed soon with Aera on his back. Somnus was just left there standing in the middle of the battlefield, He tightened his hand into a fist and cursed himself and the video stopped and faded to black._

**...**

"What happened after that Somnus was Astraea alright?" Aerith asked.

"She yes was," he nodded, "Reno was able to heal her with his tears but she slept for two days, but after that, she was okay and back to normal. I never did thank you for that, Reno…" he turned to him and his eyes widened, to see Reno had several faint cuts on his face. "Reno.. your fa-"

"It's okay Somnus, I can take it, please continue," Reno said while brushing the cuts away.

"Wait, you can feel physical pain too? just by watching a memory?" Dave asked.

"Recalling a memory with power of the Astrals can do that," Cally explained as she gazed at him. "You can feel both the emotion and physical pain, but just a little bit, but the stronger the memory the stronger the effect with be,"

"Speaking of effect, Reno did you cut your connection with Astra?" Somnus asked.

"Yes… Of course, I don't want her to feel this…"

"Good to know… I don't want to hurt her more…" Somnus smiled sadly.

"Is this the way Astraea could get her memory back and how do we do it?" Regis asked.

"Yes..." Somnus stated, "But First you need to know how she lost her memory and after that, you can be the judge if we need to return it to her or make her forget forever,"

"It's that bad…" Dave murmured.

"Yes, it is," Somnus answered.

Another minute of silence ensued. Nobody wanted to talk again except the king's shield.

"So… what happened after that… Did you continue what you're doing, founder King?" Clarus asked, eyeing the founder King.

The mystic's eyes glanced at him, "Yes… yes, I did, after the incident with Astraea, I was more determined to end the starscourge. Even if I have to kill everybody infected with the scourge."

"Did you?" Aerith hesitantly asked.

Somnus exhaled deeply, "Yes, I did… Because of that Ardyn left the palace with Aera to heal people, while I continued to slaughter them without mercy, to annihilate the starscourge is my mission, and nothing will stop me in doing so." Somnus eyes glanced at the fireplace, "I started to burn down entire villages, if there were signs of the scourge there," The wood in the fireplace snapped and crackled and it sent embers flying in the air. He gazed at it momentarily and then he continued, "Because of that Ardyn vowed to stop me, we fought once or twice by ending up in a draw, and maybe because Astraea will go in front of us to stop us hurting each other." the sphere lit up again.

**…**

_Somnus and his army were walking through the town center ready to launch another attack. The town people ran out their way and hid in their houses. But someone was brave enough to stop them and it was Ardyn. _

_Somnus stepped forward, "Get out of the way big brother, we have a mission to fulfill."_

_"Stop this Somnus!" Ardyn waived his right hand down, "This inhumane, you can't do this, there is another way!"_

_"And what is that brother? You can't heal everyone. Your body can't take all the darkness away."_

_"There is another way! we just need to look or wait for it,"_

_"We can't wait forever, Ardyn… so please stand aside."_

_Ardyn remained steadfast, "No! If you continue your vicious attack. I will stop you right here and right now!"_

_"What are you going to kill me?" Somnus mocked, "The healer of the people will use violence, it's not like you brother." he smirked at him._

_"Have you forgotten Somnus… I thought you how to use I sword," the healer summoned his sword, "I can beat you without killing you, dear brother,"_

_Somnus smirked and summoned his sword too, "No one will interfere!" he ordered his men and they stayed behind him as we walked forward._

_The two were on the standstill, Ardyn was holding his sword with his two hands doing a back stance, while Somnus did a hanging stance. The people around them started to murmur, then as the wind picked up they both charged forward. Thrusting their broadsword forward. _

_"Stop!" someone screamed at them, with a blink of an eye, Astraea was in front of them her arms spread wide. They did not have time to stop and people screamed around them. Both brother's eyes widened, Astraea was facing Ardyn and both Ardyn's and Somnus's blade went passed the side of her neck missing her by inch but close enough to create a faint cut and draw blood as a result of that her long black hair up to her waist in now cut by the shoulder. Both brothers jumped back and held their swords down._

_"What the hell are you doing ASTRAEA!" Ardyn yelled at her._

_" What I'm doing!?" she questioned, "The real question is WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING!" she snapped back at them, her crimson eyes glaring right through their soul. _

_..._

"By the grace of the Astrals, that gave a heart attack!" Aerith said while clutching her chest.

"You said it..." Dave added as he regained his composure.

"Your majesty are you okay?" Clarus asked as he went to Regis.

Regis's head was slumped down and his breathing was erratic and he was holding his heart too, "I'm okay Clarus…"

"Are you sure, Regis?" Clarus said as he put a hand on his back.

"Yes, thank you," he smiled at his shield then and turned towards Reno and Somnus, both were emotionless together with Cally.

"It did not affect you two?" Cor asked as he gazed at the two.

"Us?" Reno asked, "Yeah...well we are used to it, after all, that is not the first time she did that, it was her second time and not her last. So yeah we're used to it," Reno smiled.

'_Her last?'_ Aerith thought, '_What did he mean by that?'_

After making sure the king was alright, Clarus went back to his seat, "What do you mean by that Reno?" he asked while sitting down.

Reno just grinned and said, "Well apparently Somnus here did not listen to his sister," Reno leaned and put his right elbow on warrior's shoulder he looked at the founder blue eyes, "He and Ardyn went it again after a week and a week after that, but everything they do that, Astraea would go in front of them again and stopped them, but the fourth time was different,"

"Different how?" Regis asked.

"See it for yourself," the sphere lit up showed his memory.

**…**

_Reno, Aera, Gilgamesh, and Rosa were watching the three of them. The trio was standing in the middle of the palace courtyard as the palace people gathered around them. Both brothers had their sword out and ready to attack._

_"Stop this!" Astraea shouted she was in front of the brothers again. _

_"Get out of the way, Astra! I need to stop Somnus!"_

_"Listen to our brother, Astraea, get out of the way, I can handle him," the raven-haired warrior said as he pointed the sword at his brother._

_"You two are the one who needs to stop! STOP THIS NONSENSE!" she shouted again eyeing both brothers, "Lower your weapons!" _

_"Are you ordering us Astraea?" Somnus asked._

_"No, I'm making a treat!" she snapped back at him, "I said lower your weapon or else?"_

_"Or else what?" he glared at her._

_Before he could speak, Astraea sprinted towards the younger brother and did a roundhouse kick, her feet collided with his stomach that sent the warrior backward before he could recover, she took the chance and smacked the blade out of his hand and threw it away from them. Then she grabbed his right wrist, twisted it and threw him over her shoulder and slammed him on the ground. Then she twisted his shoulder so that it would dislocate, Somnus screamed in pain. Then she sprinted toward Ardyn. _

_Ardyn was quick and unsummoned his blade and held his hand up, "Wait, Astra! I gave up!" he pleaded, but she did not listen and did the same thing, she dislocated his right shoulder too. After that Astraea brushed the hair away from her face. While both her older brothers were on the ground wailing in pain._

_"Your sword!" she shouted at Ardyn, without a second thought the older brother summoned it and gave it to her._

_She grabbed it and went to get the other blade, with two blades at hand. She gazed around, "Nobody will give them medication! and they are not allowed to go out of the palace! Got it!" nobody answered so she shouted louder and with more authority, "I SAID GOT IT!" she turned towards the soldiers. _

_They suddenly stood straight and they folded arms into their chest and bowed down, "Yes, Your Highness!"_

_Without saying anything Astraea stumped inside the palace with both swords and slammed the door shut._

**…**

"Wow! I forgot about how fierce Astraea was back then," Reno chuckled and gazed around to see the reaction of the people. All of them are shocked, their jaw agape and their eyes wide. Then he turned towards the founder king to find him on his knees catching his breath, "Are you alright Sommy?" he said mockingly as he held his hand to him.

Somnus glared at him but took his hand anyway, "You're really enjoying this huh... bird Bird,"

"Why would you say that…" he laughed and walked over to the king's desk and got the chair in front of it and brought it back to him, "Here sit down…"

The warrior just sighed and took a seat and held his shoulder, "I forgot how painful that was," he said while rubbing his shoulder. While The people inside the room collected themselves.

"Wow, Astraea is truly amazing," Dave said.

"Yeah, she truly was…" Reno murmured.

"Why did you not fight back Somnus?" Regis asked.

He glanced at him, "I could never hurt my sister..."

"Yeah…" Reno crossed his arms, "You could never _HURT_ her…." he was smirking but his eyes were glaring at the mystic.

The people saw how Somnus's face dropped with his arms, they knew that there was a hidden meaning of what Reno said but they decided not to ask. Reno saw this he sighed and went back to being cheerful, "So what next?"

"Reno is right, what happened after that," The king asked again.

Somnus just stared at them and continued his story, "Just what Astraea ordered. They never let us go out of the palace, we remained inside the palace for a week recovering from our injury. We are lucky back then, that the daemons did not attack during that week and just like our sister said, they never did gave us medication," he chuckled, "Astraea did not even talk to us…Because of that, I came to realized that what I'm doing is wrong, I want to talk to my brother but I was afraid of what he might say… so I decided to keep it to myself,"

The sphere started to lit up, they were surprised.

"Whose memory is that?" Reno asked.

"Mine!" Cally jumped down from the coffee table and jumped up to Somnus's shoulder. She wrapped her tail around his neck and glanced at everyone, "Just like Astraea, my master here was a talent of singing."

"Cally don't you dare!" Somnus snarled at the guardian.

"Sorry but they have to know,"

Before Somnus could reply her memory started to show.

**…**

_Carbuncle was on Somnus's left shoulder as the warrior of light went walking towards the lotus pond. He stopped and gazed at the beautiful pink flowers._

_"What am I doing Cally? Why can I just tell him and admit I was wrong."_

_"Well, admitting one's wrongdoing is a trial itself, so don't think about it so much master," she said while jumping down on the railing of the gazebo._

_"Maybe you're right, I should take my time and should thank Astraea first… she made me realize that I need to change my ways," he touched his injured shoulder which is now held on a sling as he took a seat at the railing, "Do you think she will forget me, Cally?"_

_"The princess will never be mad at you, you just need to wait until her temper dies down…" Cally went curled into his lap. _

_"Yeah your right, she was scary right?" Somnus glanced down and patted Cally on the head with his left hand._

_"Yes, really scary, she is scarier than Bahamut.."_

_The master and guardian both chuckled then silence filled the air._

_Somnus took a deep breath and whispered, "I hope you can forgive me, brother…" he took another deep breath and started to sing. (Brother My brother - Blessid Union of Souls (with lyrics)). After his song, he just took a deep breath and gazed at the lotus flowers. _

_"So..." a female-voice trailed off behind him, he snapped his head back to see who it was. Astraea was standing there, with her hands behind her back._

_"So… I really got my talent for singing from you Sommy…" she said while smiling and walking toward him. _

_"Really how about Ardyn? he can sing too,"_

_"Well I heard Ardyn serenade Aera one time," she shook her head, "It's not very good," she said while smiling._

_"Don't let Ardyn hear that he will be devastated, he is proud of his singing voice," he patted her on the head, "Why are you here? It's already midnight, you should rest."_

_"Same goes to you, you should be resting," she glanced at his injured shoulder and frowned, "Sorry…" she murmured._

_He titled his head, What's that? I did not hear it?" he asked while smiling._

_She knew he was just pretending she wanted to smack him on the head instead she bowed her head, "I'm so sorry… so sorry brother…"_

_Her brother just smiled and patted her on the head again, "You don't have to apologize. I should be the one who should. So sorry… Astraea for making you worry and putting your life in danger,"_

_She suddenly hugged him, he hugged her back with his uninjured arm. Something dropped on the ground with a clang. _

_"Sorry..." she picked it up and handed it to him, "Here, your sword I'm giving it back to you…"_

_He eyed his sword and then her face, "How do I suppose to hold that?" he asked mockingly._

_She just glared at him and pulled out a glass vail from her pocket and set the sword down beside them, "Here held up your arm,"_

_"What is your potion? It won't help me, Astra,"_

_"Just give me your arm," she yanked it, he hissed, "Sorry, I just need to take this sling out of the way," she said while unwrapping the cloth away. Then she popped the cork with her teeth and poured the liquid on her brother's shoulder, it glowed blue and died down, "It is healed now try it," she smiled._

_Somnus looked at her in bewilderment but tried to move his shoulder, she was right, it all healed up, "How? How did you do that? Your potion doesn't work like that," _

_"I created a new potion, but I did ask Reno for his feather and tears,"_

_"You ask him?"_

_"Okay fine!, I plucked them and that made him cry then I collected his tears Okay!" she said while crossing her arms._

_"You know Astra, sometimes you are truly very evil, you're truly our evil little sister…" he chuckled. _

_"I'm proud to be," she laughed, then she lowered her head down, "Sorry.."_

_"For what?" he said and made her sit down beside him. Cally jumped to her shoulder and nuzzled herself in her neck._

_She patted the guardian and looked at her brother, "For being weak...and useless…"_

_"What!" the prince's eyes widened, "You're not weak and you're not useless Astraea. Don't you ever think that! Your potion helped us a lot and without you stopping our fight one of us will be dead by now, so stop your negative thoughts," he hugged her._

_"Funny… that what Ardyn said to me, you have the same way of thinking," she broke the embrace and smiled at him._

_"Wait so… you went to Ardyn first before coming to me then?"_

_"Yes.. why are you jealous, Sommy?"_

_"What! me jealous of him, never!" he turned his head away._

_She chuckled, "We're fine now right? You are not angry with me?"_

_He gazed at her, "As long you're not angry with me too Astra."_

_She nodded then hugged her brother. They both shared a deep hug, "I love you… Sommy…" she whispered._

_"Love you too… Astra," he replied while brushing her hair._

_Astraea broke and hugged and pulled something out of her pocket. "Hey look what Reno gave me,"_

_"That's a memory sphere, one of our creations back at Solheim, do you know how to use it?"_

_"Yup! I do I even made a recording,"_

_"Let me see," The sphere lit up and showed him signing his heart out. _

_"I knew it was hard for you to talk to our brother so I was going to show it to him," she laughed and grabbed the sphere and stood up._

_"NO! erase that!"_

_"NOPE!" she stuck her tongue out at him, "See ya Sommy!" she started to run, "ADDY! I got something to show you!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. _

_Cally saw how Somnus grabbed his sword and went chasing them, "Faster Princess, Your brother is right after our tail._

_"Get back here, Astra! Cally! Don't even dare to show that to anyone!"_

_Astraea and Carbuncle just laughed out loud as then went inside the palace. Then the sphere turned off._

**…**

"Carbuncle!" Somnus snarled and about to grab the guardian. But she was fast and jumped down and went towards King Regis to hide, "Cally come back here! I said don't show that memory to anyone!"

Cally stuck her head out from behind Regis's cape, her ears moving up and down, "Sorry, I thought it will help them to understand you more, master," she laughed.

Reno chucked and whacked a hand on the back of the founder king, it made him stumble a bit, "I never knew you have a great singing voice… oh great… founder king…" he mocked.

Suddenly Somnus summoned his sword and slashed it towards the guardian. Reno was able to duck and went towards the king, "Woah! Stop! I'm only kidding Somnus!"

"Well, now we know where Astraea got her impulsive side…" Aerith whispered to her brother. Somnus heard that and glared at the hunter, "Sorry!" Aerith blurted out and bowed.

"Don't be Aerith," Reno walked behind her, "Your right, Astraea got her impulsive and reckless side from Somnus, and she got the calm and kind side from Ardyn," He smiled at Somnus who was still glaring at him.

Somnus just sighed in defeat unsummoned his blade and pinched the bridge of his nose and took a seat, "Enough with your shenanigan Reno, just tell them what happened next and how Astraea turned the tide of war,"

Reno saw how Somnus became serious so he straightened himself and went in front.

"Well then… that out of the way, let me tell you about how the fire maiden was born!" he said while smiling then the sphere lit up and showed his memory.

**…**

_Reno's consciousness was fading in and out, "Reno…wake up...Tenno..." a voice kept calling him and shaking his right shoulder. He just shrugged his shoulder and turned to his side. _

_"RENO!" the voice grabbed his shoulder tightly._

_He bolted upright, left hand turned into talons and ready to attack whoever grabbed his shoulder. His hands stopped in midair as he saw Astraea sitting on the edge of his bed and looking up at him in a frightened expression. His eye widened as he saw his sharp talons were mere inches from her face. She gulped and backed away from him slowly._

_"ASTRAEA!" he shouted and retracted his talons and it returned to normal, "Are you okay? Did I hurt you?" his voice full of concern, she shook her head, "Please don't ever do that… princess…" he said while sitting up straight._

_"Sorry, I did knock a few times and waited for a minute or two and you did not answer and I heard you whimpering I got worried, so I went inside to find you trashing in your sleep,"_

_"Me?trashing?"_

_"Ah huh..looks like you're having a nightmare, are you okay?" she touched his right cheek._

_"Yes," Reno lowered his head as he remembered his dream. The same dream he always had for the past year, the fall of Solheim. But he won't tell her that, he doesn't want to remind her about that tragic night, so he raised his head and smiled at her, "So what brings of her anyway Princess,"_

_Astraea knew he was trying to hide something from her, just like her brothers, and she knew that he would never tell her about his dreams, so she just brushed it aside and smiled, "I told you not to call me Princess!" she whacked him on the head._

_"Ouch.. so you just woke me up so that you can whack me?" Reno said while rubbing his head._

_"No…" she lowered her head and started clutching and squeezing her hands, "I want you to do something for me Reno…"_

_He saw how her eyes changed from cheerful to serious, "Astraea? What is it? I do my best to do it."_

_Astraea gazed at him and held his hands, "Bring me to Mt. Ravatogh!" _

_"WHAT!" Reno stood up from the bed and looked down at her._

_She followed him, "Come on Reno, Please take me there!"_

_"Why? You know how dangerous it is!"_

_"Yes, I know the danger… I want to talk to the Infernian,"_

_"Ifrit? Why do you want to talk to him,"_

_Astraea gazed at the fireplace and walked slowly towards it and stopped in front of it, she put her right hand into her heart, "Maybe he will give me his blessing, just like what he did to my father…"_

_"Why would you do that?" he walked beside her._

_"I want to help...not just tending the sick and wounded, I want to fight like you and my brothers so please Reno…" she held his hands again._

_"Have you tried talking to Bahamut?" _

_"Yes… I was praying in front of his Crystal but he won't answer me. I've been doing that for the past months but nothing ever happened. So I thought I was praying at the wrong Astral… and maybe… Ifrit would listen and answer me,"_

_"Ifrit won't answer Astraea, he's asleep, you know,"_

_"You don't know that! Please Reno I beg of you, take me to " she kneeled, "Please I want to help my brother…I don't want to be a burden anymore," Her tears started to fall._

_He went down, "Astraea please don't do that, you're not a burden..." he helped her up and brushed her tears away and looked at her crimson eyes. It was glowing beautifully because it was reflecting the fire, "Are you sure you want this?"_

_"Yes…" she nodded._

_"Fine…" he sighed in defeat and lowered his head down, "Go and prepare your things, I will take you there…"_

_"Really! Thank you Reno!" she went for a hug then she backed away, "I'm all ready for the trip! She held her satchel bag to him, it was full of necessary items, a few potions veil, clean cloth, and a glass water bottle._

_He looked at it and smiled, "You come prepared…"_

_"Of course, after all, I know you will say yes," she smiled at him, "Let go before the sleeping potion wears off," he dragged him out the room._

_"Sleeping potion?" he said while following her in the hallway._

_"Yup! I can't sneak out so I put the soldiers to sleep,"_

_"Ardyn and Somnus will be mad at you Astraea,"_

_"I know, that's why I put them to sleep too," she turned and smiled at him, "So let us hurry, my potion will lose its effect after five hours," she started to run._

_They both arrived at the stable Reno stayed outside while Astraea went to grab his saddle. When she went back he was now on his Phoenix form._

_She gazed at him for a few seconds admiring his vibrant feather, "Wow Reno…" she walked forward and touched the side of his neck, "You are truly breathtaking,"_

_He chuckled, "Really? this is not even my real size,"_

_She backed away from him, "Really how big are you truly?"_

_The guardian lowered his head to her, "Remember the giant blackbird,"_

_"You mean the Zu?" he nodded, "Wow ok then… let us not transform into a gigantic bird, we're trying to sneak out... so a big red bird the size of a small mountain is a dead give away," she laughed, "But still I want to see it someday."_

_He chuckled, "But of course Princess…" he bowed down._

_She frowned and plucked a feather from his crest._

_"Ouch!" he whined and raised his head._

_"Shhh… be quiet we're trying to sneak out remember…" she grinned while pocketing his feather. Then she went and put the saddle on him. After making sure it securely fastened she straddled him._

_Reno spread his wings, "The journey to Mt. Ravatogh will take several hours, so go ahead and sleep for a while"_

_"NO!" she shouted but quickly lowered her voice down, "We need to get there and be back before the sleeping potions wear off. This our secret mission nobody needs to know about this, so go ahead fly as fast as you can!" she ordered._

_Reno smirked and winked at her, "Okay then! hold on tight Astraea!" _

_Before she could say a word, Reno leaped out from the ground and went flying at top speed._

_"Eehhkkk!" she squealed and hugged his neck, he just laughed and went straight up. The sound of the wind rushing and the flapping of his wings are the only sounds that could be heard and then he burst through the dark cloud and hovered above it. Where the stars are visible._

_"Princess… open your eyes," she did not for she is still hugging him tightly, "Astraea, open your eyes…" _

_She opened it and he heard her awed, "Wow, it's beautiful!" _

_For the past months, the stars started to disappear as the miasma started to take over the sky. Even in the day, the sky is still dark like there is always a looming shadow over the land. He glanced up to see her smiling, the princess has always loved stargazing and seeing her like that gave him a warm and satisfying feeling._

_"Hold on tight Astraea!"_

_She nodded and seated herself properly and grabbed the horns off the saddle. They flew about 25 minutes then they reached the end of the desert plain and to the lush landscape. Reno lowered himself down to let Astraea see the greenery. Then they arrived where Solheim once stood. They both looked down to see the blue flames emanating from the meteor. Then Reno felt a water drop, his blue eyes glanced up to see she was crying silently. He always hated it to see her crying. He uttered a tsk and glared at the meteor. Without giving any warning he dove down towards the crater._

_"REENOO!" she grabbed his neck as they plummeted down with great speed._

_He circled the meteor, they were so close that they could feel immense heat coming from the flaming meteor. Then he flew towards one of the stone arches nearby._

_"Reno please stop!" she exclaimed._

_The phoenix did not listen and did loops around the stone arches. She suddenly grabbed his feather crest and yanked it back hard enough that Reno lost his focus and collided with the base of the stone arches. Astraea was thrown off him as he suddenly transformed into his human form. He saw it and hugged her protectively and pointed his body down to absorb the impact. His wing burst out from his back but it was too late he just wrapped his wings around her as they plummeted downward. They first landed on the trees and then on the cold hard ground. _

_Reno gasped as air escaped his lung when he collided with the ground, He put his head back and rested it on the ground, his wing slowly opened revealing the unharmed Astraea. _

_"Reno!" she cried while on top of him._

**…**

"Wow! Reno, you truly did care for her… Astraea is blessed to have you," Aerith stated as she gazed at his memory.

"Are you alright Reno?" Somnus asked.

Reno just nodded and smiled and returned his gaze at his memory.

**…**

_"Reno!" she shouted his name and cupped his face with two hands. He just raised his head and smiled at her._

_"Are you okay, Princess?" he said while grinning._

_Astraea just scoffed and punched him on the chest, "Why did you do that!"_

_Reno raised himself and sat down while she went and sat down beside him. He just sighed and looked at her, he gently raised his right hand and brushed her tears away, "I just don't want to see you crying that's all, I'm sorry," he said as gently as possible._

_She just lowered her head down and murmured, "Thanks Reno…but…" she then glared at him and whacked him on the head, "Don't ever do that ever again. I will not ride you anymore if you do that!"_

_He chuckled then stood up, "As your wish princess," he bowed. _

_She stood up and crossed her arms. He saw this and chuckled again, "Let go we still have a long way to go, can you ride without a saddle?" she nodded, "Well then let us continue," Reno turned into a phoenix again, she straddled him and they continued the journey. They arrived at Mt. Ravatogh within 45 minutes. _

_He landed at the open field near a giant nest. She disembarked him and waited for him to turn into a human. After returning to his human form Reno ran his hand through his hair and smiled at her, she smiled back and started to walk._

_"Hey Reno, remember that?" she pointed at the nest._

_"Yes, it's the nest where you found me right?"_

_"Yup, and this where I met your mother, she did ask me to take care of you before she died,"_

_"Well, I'm very blessed that raised me, by the way, why did you climb the volcano anyway?"_

_She stopped and pondered, "I can't remember…"_

_"Really? that's a shame..."_

_"I don't remember but enough of that, let's just focus on the task at hand," he nodded and guided her. After walking past a haven they dropped down the side of the mountain two times towards a river of lava. They stopped and looked at it._

_"Now what?" she asked._

_Reno crouched down and his left hand turned into talons and touched the lava, in an instance the lava stopped flowing and hardened._

_"Wow that cool!" she awed._

_"I need to carry you, it can still burn you," she nodded and let him carry her bridal style. He walked slowly to reach where the lava was coming from. A small cave where horns like stone sticking out the ground. He made sure that the ground was cold enough before he lowered her._

_"Here we are," Reno said while looking down the pool of lava._

_"Where the Infernian?"_

_"Down there," he pointed at the pool of lava, "The heart of the mountain where Ifrit lay fast asleep. So go ahead, he might hear you here,"_

_She looked at him and nodded, suddenly she kneeled. She hissed as her knees were being burned._

_"Astraea!" she grabbed her and tried to yank her up, she just pushed him aside._

_"Let me do this Reno!" she glared at him. Reno just sighed and backed away._

_Astraea kept her focus even though the pain on her knees was unbearable. She lowered her head down, "Ohh great Infernian... God of Fire… please hear my call," she prayed, "Grant me your blessing so that I can help those who are in the darkness, Please help me save them," she started to cry, her tears evaporated after touching the ground, "Please…." she pleaded, "I want to save them… I want to save and help my brothers…. our people…" there was no answer at all, only silent. She then bent more closely at the ground, her forehead touching the hardened lava, "Please Ifrit! I don't want to see anyone dying… nobody has to be killed or sacrificed, please help me…" silent still ensued._

_Reno sighed and started to walk toward her to help her up, suddenly the lava burst upward forming a pillar then Ifrit was seen inside the pillar._

_"Astraea Izunia!" the voice of Infernian was heard, she gazed at God of fire, "I have heard you call, I will grant you my flames! You will become my new champion!" he announced._

_Astraea was speechless and just bowed her head down, "Thank you Infernian, I promise to use your flames for good of the people of Eos,"_

_"Every well, stand Astraea Izunia," she stood up and looked at Astral, Ifrit held his right hand and opened his claw-like fingers, a small crystal shard appeared, "Take what is left of my crystal and use it to save the people of Eos… from Diabolos… from the chaos…"_

_She nodded, "I promise dear Astral," she bowed down again and reached for the crystal, Ifrit handed it to her. It hovered in her hand, it was radiating heat and glowing faintly._

_"Diabolos will now target you now Izunia, be careful," Ifrit warned before disappearing. Then the lava went towards her, engulfing her. She screamed as the hot liquid made contact._

_"ASTRAEA!" Reno shouted and ran towards her, then a bright red light burst out from her body and went into the sky, parting and making a circle in the dark cloud above and when the light died down. Astraea is now standing firmly with Ifrit's crystal shard hovering in her right hand. _

_Reno stopped and stared at her as she looked back at him. He awed at the sight of her. Her black jet hair now the color of flames. Glowing brightly while embers fluttering from it. Her crimson eyes glowing bright red, like the lava around them. As the winds blew her hair swayed with it, sending embers flying away._

_Reno then lowered himself on one knee, as the mark on his cheeks glowed deep red signaling that he was now a new master. He bowed down towards her, "I promise to serve you Astraea Izunia, Champion of Ifrit… the new warrior of Light and my new master,"_

_She smiled at her, "Thank you Reno…"_

_He stood up and gazed at her glowing eyes, "My pleasure….. Fire Maiden…."_

* * *

**A/N: **I don't know if my portrayal of Somnus and Ardyn is correct after all, we never get to know Somnus in the game. I just watched FFXV Episode Ardyn prologue and Episode Ardyn and I based their character on that. I know Somnus singing is out of character but I just rewatched pokemon the 1st movie and when it got to the song Brother My Brother. Ardyn and Somnus came to my mind so I added it to the story.

THANK YOU! hope you enjoy this and have a wonderful day and keep safe!✩


	21. Chapter 19

**A/N: **My own version where the starscourge came from and I got the idea from the (FF13) Fabula Nova Crystallis series. I made a mistake and counted the years wrong when Reno woke up. I wrote it 30 years ago instead of the correct one, which was 15 years ago. So I will just change it in this chapter. Again the first scene from Episode Ardyn.

* * *

**Recalling of the Past: Starscourge**

"_Darkness is the heart's true nature" -Young Xehanort (Kingdom Hearts 3)_

* * *

15 years ago, Ardyn Lucis Caelum dreamed about his life with his beloved. He did not know how long he was chained in the dark stone prison. The only memory he has is about his beloved Area and the time they spent together.

**...**

_After a long day of healing, they went into a quiet field under a tree sharing a lovely afternoon._

"_Ardyn…" Aera whispered._

"_Oh...Ardyn…" Aera chuckled, "You can't expect me to believe that,"_

_He laughed, "Oh, but I do! you have my word._

_Aera giggled. "Well, in that case" she continued to giggle._

_Ardyn sighed while lying on Aera's legs. The oracle brushed his brown hair, "You look exhausted my love, are you alright?"_

_He chuckled and sat up, "I am," he gazed at his right hand, "The god blessed me with the power and a purpose to cure people of what ails them. I must see there will be done."_

_Aera put her hand together, "Your devotion shall not go unnoticed. The gods will doubtless be watching over you." he turned to her, "Just as I shall be watching over you every step of the way," she smiled at him lovingly. He chuckled, "It seems to be the cure for your exhaustion is comprised of two things, one of which is rest,"_

"_Oh and the other?" they both gazed at each other's eyes._

_She giggled "... Is me,"_

_They both laughed and he leaned his hand on the ground, then leaned in and kissed her on the cheek and caressed her face, "Oh, Aera, Pray be with me always,"_

_The oracle nodded and giggled and leaned on his shoulder. They shared a moment of silence then a scream could be heard from a distance._

"_Reno! Give me back my satchel!" a female voice was heard coming their way._

_Suddenly a red Chocobo burst out from a field of grass and hid behind the tree. _

"_RENO!" The female burst out of the grass, she was wearing a short white and red dress(FFXIV White Mage outfit). She was trying to catch her breath. She looks exhausted, dried twigs and leaves were hanging from her raven hair._

"_Oh… A… what happened to you?" Aera called her as she stood up. But Ardyn did not hear her name properly. He just sat on the ground still looking at her._

_Aera went towards the mysterious female and helped her to get the twigs and leaves out of her hair. Ardyn was trying to remember where he saw her. Her black hair and crimson eyes were familiar to him but distant at the same time. _

_After a while, the female turned to him, "Ardyn! I was looking all over for you! Somnus said that we are going hunting tonight so let's go home," she held her hand towards him. He reluctantly reached for it, suddenly flames engulfed the female in an instant leaving nothing but specs of red light in the air._

"_Wait!" he shouted as he reached his hand in the air, then he woke up._

**_..._**

He saw several lights shining at him and he slowly opened his eyes and saw a silhouette of a man.

"He's alive!" the man chuckled maniacally, "Just as the ancient text told!"

"Who?" he asked.

"Take him away!" the man ordered his men.

The chain was cut off and he was finally released from his prison.

**...**

Back at the present. All of them awed as they saw Astraea transformation.

"I give you birth the fire maiden!" Reno announced while gesturing his hand on the paused video.

Silence befell upon the room again. It broke when the king's shield asked a question.

"So what happened after that? Did princess Astraea-"

Reno burst out laughing, "Hmmmp, hahaha!'

All their attention turned towards the guardian, he was leaning on Somnus's chair and trying to compose himself.

"Is there anything wrong with what I said, Reno?" Clarus brows furrowed in annoyance.

"What?" he turned to him, "Noo…" he stood straight and arrange his suit, "I just remembered something,"

"And what is that?" Somnus's eyes glanced at him.

He gazed down and chuckled, "I kept remembering that time when I kept calling her princess… every time I spoke the word she would whack or punch me, she doesn't like that title or any royal title for that matter. She even yanked my ponytail if I will not listen," he brushed his ponytail and laid it on his right shoulder. A genuine smile ran across his face.

"You said it…" Somnus added with a smile, "Ardyn and I was not spare in her antics too, she will attack us if we kept teasing her, she is very outspoken and will not back down in any fight,"

"Yup, the title _fire maiden_ suit her very well, after all, like the flames she impulsive, reckless, and sometimes very aggressive.

"Don't forget Stubborn..." Somnus added.

"But even if all that negative traits, you still love her, even with that she still the most honest, sweet, forgiving person we all knew and loved," Carbuncle went out her hiding spot and jumped towards the coffee table, her tail swaying as she walked in the center, she took a seat and turned her head towards Clarus, "Do you think so too, Mr. Amicitia?"

All the attention landed on the shield, Clarus sighed and straightened himself, "Yes she is...but she kept getting herself into trouble," he said while remembering all the bad thing Astraea did, their first meeting, the improper was she acted towards King Regis, lastly, the time she attacked him, he smiled, "But as you said, Guardian, she kind and friendly, but she does need a royal tutor to teach her about manner inside the Citadel if she will continue to live here," he crossed his arms.

"Can Ignis teach her? After all, he's the Prince's retainer," Aerith asked.

They all gazed as the King, he sighed, "Okay, I will ask Mr. Scientia, after this,"

Somnus nodded, "Thank you, Regis," he gazed toward the other, "I know my sister is quite a handful at times so please be patient with her and guide her in the right path, that's all I ask of you…"

"You don't have to ask, Your Majesty," Dave said, "We will be here for her and protect her," they all nodded at the hunter remark.

"Thank you…" the founder king gently smiled at them then turned his attention towards the guardian, "Reno can you continue now?"

The guardian clapped his hand, "Okay then, so where are we?" he turned towards the video and it continued.

**…**

_Reno's gaze did not leave his new master, she twirled around then she turned to him and asked, "What do I look?"_

_He laughed, "You look like a phoenix, Astraea, love your hair,"_

_She looked at him in bewilderment and then she took a strand of hair. Her eyes widened to see the color her black hair is now the color of the fire, "WHAT! Wait happened to my hair!" she started to panic._

_Reno walked towards her and brushed her hair, "It the sign that your Ifrit's champion, Astraea, it's the symbol his blessing,"_

"_Really?"_

"_Yup," he nodded while smiling, "Now you look like me, a phoenix whos flames are everlasting,"_

_She smiled back and brushed both sides of her hair, "It such shame, it will look awesome if I still have my long hair,"_

"_Don't worry it will grow back, Princess," he said while ruffling her hair._

_Astraea eyes went glaring and she punched Reno on the chest which sent the guardian, rolling down and mountainside, "Reno!" she ran towards him. He was coughing and laughing as he sat down on his bended knees. She kneeled beside him, "Are you okay, I'm so sorry, I did not intend to punch you like that," she said with a worried expression._

_He chuckled and looked at her, "Its okay Astraea, but now you should watch your action, your more powerful now than before, just like your brothers you have the blessing of the Astral," she looked down at her hand, as it glowed red, together with her hair and eyes. He noticed the worried expression on her face, he sighed and stood up, "Here," he held his hand and she took it, "Don't worry I will help you train, Fire Maiden," he bowed._

_She wanted to protest but she just sighed in defeat and bowed too, "Thank Reno, please take care of me,"_

_They both raised their heads and looked at each other then burst out laughing, she hugged him, "Thank you Reno… now I can help them," she broke the embrace and smiled at him._

_He patted her on the head, "Don't get carried away, you still have a lot of training to do," he said and started to walk away, "For now let's go home," he looked back to see her just standing there while looking at the boiling lava, "Princess..?"_

_She took a deep breath and whispered still holding the crystal shard, "I won't let you down Ifrit, I promise," she bowed, "Thank you," then she walked towards her guardian, "Hey Reno, I want to change my hair back to black,"_

_He stopped and stared at her, "Why? Red hair suits you, fire maiden, "he mocked. _

_She glared at him, "Because I don't want Ardyn and Somnus to know I did this"_

"_Why?"_

"_Just you said, I need training so I need… no, we need to keep this a secret okay Reno,"_

_Reno's marks glowed, "Yes, Master," he bowed as he raised his head and the video faded to black._

**…**

"I have a question Reno," Aerith asked.

"Shoot,"

"I don't understand what the Astral symbol is?"

"I can answer that!" Cally jumped from the table to her lap, "Each Astral was a symbol or color that represents their element, Bahamut's is blue, Ifrit's is red, and so on. If a champion accepts Astral's blessing, then his/her appearance will change, it will always be their eyes, but in Astraea's case, she already has crimson eyes, so her hair is the one who turns red," Aerith nodded.

"How about Noctis, he does not have one?" Regis asked.

"Well…" Reno trailed off, they all look at him, "The prince was already was one, his blue eyes,"

"His eyes?" Regis asked again.

"Yup, The prince was born as the destined King of Light, that made him Bahamut's champion so after he was born his eyes turned blue,"

"What are you saying the Prince's eyes are not blue?" Cor asked.

"Yup, it's crimson, just like Astraea. The trait of the Izunia Clan, Crimson eyes, and black hair. If you see what I see you will be amazed how Astraea and Noctis look identical to each other, with their crimson eyes and black hair their connection truly can be seen. They are the descendants of the person who was the title of the _Crimson Phoenix_… Vicent Izunia."

"What about you Somnus, do you possess crimson eyes too?" Regis asked as he gazed at him.

Former champion sighed and let his eyes return to normal, brown eyes, "Ardyn and I both have brown eyes, just like my mother's, Astraea is the only one who inherited our father's eyes," he said as his eyes returned being blue.

"Okay, I get it now, but how about the King, his eyes are not blue," Dave asked while scratching his chin.

Somnus turned towards the Monarch, "Because he is not a champion of Bahamut. Yes, he was the Draconian blessing but did not obtain the title as champion. In two thousand years, I only saw 12 rulers have earned their title as Champion of Bahamut's.

"Ony 12?"

The founder king glanced at the marshal, "Yes, that includes me, you knew them as the rulers of yore, their royal tombs scattered across the Kingdom of Lucis waiting for the King of Light to come. Now their and mine waiting is finally over, only time will tell when the prince will take his rightful place at the throne as the King of Light."

Regis's face frowned as he heard the statement of the founder king. He felt hurt, after all, he did his best to serve the Kingdom. He vowed to protect the Bahamut's crystal with his life, but it looks like that is not enough. Reno noticed the king's reaction, he went to his side and put a hand on his shoulder, "Don't get so worked up, Your Majesty, you might not be a champion of Bahamut but you're a great and loving king. Your people look up to you, especially the prince and Astraea, so don't be sad, be grateful that you're the one who brought the King of Light in this world and help him to become the man he is now," he smiled brightly at him.

"Reno is right Regis, don't worry about not being Bahamut's Champion. Even without the title. You were able to do great and amazing things. You should be proud of that," Somnus added as he gave him a look of admiration.

Regis's face brightened and he smiled at both of them, "Thank you… I will do everything to help the warriors so that they can fulfill their calling,"

"We will help you, Your Majesty," Clarus added.

Regis gazed at his shield and towards the other, They nodded and bowed to him. He nodded with a smile, then turned his attention back to the sphere, "So what happened after that?"

Reno cleared his throat, "We went back to Lucis, and just like she said she kept her new title and ability secret for six months. Every day we will train in secret. In those six months, the starscourge and daemons become more widespread. Because of Bahamut's crystal, Nibelheim became a haven. We started to welcome people from all over Eos. Nibelheim became as big as Solheim it became the new pillar of Eos. But even inside the wall of the new kingdom, Daemons was able to attack, luckily the champion of Bahamut learned to work together," Reno gazed at Somnus.

Somnus nodded and continued the story, "Just like Reno said, Ardyn and I were able to forget our differences and work together. But even with our combined forces, the starscourge was winning. We started doubting our ability to save our people. But everything changed one night." The sphere glowed again and showed his memory.

**…**

_They were walking in the hallway. Ardyn was in front with Aera, while he and Gilgamesh were walking side by side. Astraea and Reno were in the far back of the group. Somnus stopped and looked back, "Astraea I want you to join the meeting today," _

_She stopped walking, "What? Why?"_

_Both Ardyn and Aera stopped too and looked back, "You're a part of this family too, Astraea, so please join the meeting," Ardyn added._

"_But… I don't have anything to contribute " she replied._

"_Nothing to contribute?" Ardyn started to walk back to her, "Astraea… you have been a great help to us, you're the reason why Somnus and I made up," he stopped beside his brother._

"_Our brother is right, if you did not interfere, one of us might be dead now, and beside your potion is helping us in a great way, just continue what you are doing and don't ever think you're not helping okay?" he patted her on the head._

_She nodded, "Okay I will do it," the siblings smiled at each other then they resumed walking._

_They reach a huge double door, Gilgamesh and Reno open it and they all walk inside. They entered a huge room that acted as an assembly hall. Every month there is a meeting to be held which other rulers of the neighboring lands need to attend and today is the day of said meeting. A huge grand table was placed in the middle of the room which seated fifteen. Each chair has an emblem on top of the headrest. Ten chairs are occupied by people who are now seated quietly, all are wearing different colored cloaks behind them. A person wearing the same colored cloak is standing to their right. Both brothers went and walked towards the head of the table which had two chairs. Ardyn was on the right and Somnus was on the left. Aera went and took a seat on the right side of Ardyn. While Gilgamesh took a seat on the left side of Somnus for they are the representatives of their family. Both brothers' headrest is still empty as they haven't yet decided the emblem that will represent their new family name, the Caelum. The oracle and the shield took a seat while the warriors of light remained standing. Both turned their attention towards Astraea. She and Reno were still standing near the door. _

"_Astraea please take a seat," Somnus gestures towards the only empty seat on the table which is located at the foot of the table. She walked slowly towards it and looked at the headrest. Even with the distance, both brothers noticed how her eyes widened. She slowly touched the emblem. The red and blue phoenix was beautifully carved and the lotus was red as her eyes. _

"_Izunia…" she muttered then she turned towards her brother she smiled and mouthed, "Thank you…" both brothers just nodded and gave her a warm smile in return. Then she went in front of the chair and stood straight. Reno stood beside her on the right side._

_The people then looked back at the champions of Bahamut. Ardyn took a deep breath, "Rulers of the Lands of Eos, Thank you for coming here in Nibelheim. Your presence is much appreciated, I hope your journey here is quite pleasant and please be at ease here in the light of Bahamut's Crystal." he announced with a warm and inviting tone. All the people nodded at him and thanked him for his hospitality. Then the three siblings took their seats. The meeting went smoothly. At first, they all talked about the progress of their land and how both people from Nibelheim and Solheim were helping the neighboring land to recover. Some land was able to recover after the War of the Astral, especially the regions between Solheim(Duscae) and Nibelheim(Cavaugh). But the other land which is near Mt. Ravatogh(Cleigne) was not doing so well. Famine and drought ran across the land which caused some of the monarchs to voice their opinion which resulted in chaos inside the room. _

"_Is Bahamut abandoning us, dear Oracle? We have been engulfed in this darkness of many months now, " one of the leaders asked._

_She shook her head, "No, Bahamut won't abandon us, believe in him-"_

_The man stood up and slammed his hand on the table, that made Aera flinch a bit, "So explain why this is happening, Our people are dying and turning into daemons and our land is becoming barren and the daemons keep attacking us! We won't survive if this darkness continues. So why not go and talk to him right now Oracle!" the man said angrily while glaring at Aera._

_Aera could not answer his question after for the past months Bahamut has been quiet and won't answer her prayers. She wanted to ease their concern but she didn't know what to do so she gazed at her fiance._

_Ardyn's eyes were close, then he opened it slowly. "Don't put your anger towards the Oracle, Lord Mateus, she is doing her best and beside the Astral haven't talked to us has been silent for the past months."_

_Lord Mateus just scoffed at the warrior, "You're just saying that.. for you and your brother don't want to share Bahamut's crystal," he crossed his arms, First Solheim now Nibelheim are you trying to destroy every land your family had you hands-on Huh…__**IZUNIA**__? Is the failure of your people and the destruction of your kingdom not enough? You want all of us to suffer as well?" he asked in a mocking tone._

_Somnus's eyes glared at him, "Lord Mateus please if you're not going to contribute to the betterment of Eos take a seat. We're here to talk about how we're going to help each other in this dark time. We're not here to talk about the past."_

"_Oh please…" Mateus chuckled, "You're just avoiding the truth if I recall your people," he glanced at the three siblings, "The Solheimian people were blessed with the power to defeat the daemons but what happened?.. your family and people failed to do so. Ifrit granted his fire and his knowledge but what did your people do? You just waste your technology in building stupid things. If your people just use the technology to build weapons just like what Elheimians did, we might be able to use them. But no, you destroyed their weapon and killed their people… so much of the clan who preach about peace." he said with a smug look._

_The other leaders were speechless and they all turned towards the direction of the brothers. Both warriors of Bahamut's face turned into a scowl. Their eyes ready to kill the lord. Somnus was about to stand up but the voice of his sister stopped him._

"_May I speak?" she asked. They all turned towards her; they were surprised to find her face straight and emotionless. But before anyone could talk she continued, "My memory might not have returned yet but I know from the fact, Lord Mateus," she turned towards him, "The Elheimian is the one responsible of the War of the Astrals, they all wanted all the power of the Crystals and tried to take it for their own. Not only that they swore allegiance towards the Lord of Darkness, Diabolos. They made him more powerful by feeding him with fear and hatred caused by the war. Our people are the ones who made a great sacrifice to defeat them with that Solheim got destroyed. Our people both lost their home and their loved ones but we never did blame others for what happened to us."_

"_Yes.. but-" The lord was not able to finish his sentence because Astraea held her right hand up to stop him._

"_I'm not finished yet lord Mateus, please don't be __**RUDE**__," she said in a soft and collected tone but there was a hint of anger in it. Mateus straightened up, his gaze not leaving her._

_She took a deep breath and continued, "So please stop blaming my people, they don't deserve it." her soft eyes turned into a glare, "Not only that I read the scrolls about War of the Astrals that your __**PEOPLE**_ _helped the Elheimian to get material for their weapon. You people are the ones who stole the mithril from Steyliff Grove and aid them in the war but even with that, the other leaders especially my brothers forgive you and your people. You never had the same fate as what happened to the people of Elheimian, forgotten, and cast out. But if you still want to join them, please nobody is stopping you." she said as she took something out from her pocket, "But if you will keep blaming my people and taking your anger with us, I might give you the same treatment," suddenly she stabbed the table with a normal dagger, "Don't anger the daughter of the_ _Crimson __**PHOENIX,**_ _Lord Mateus you might get burned." she said in an authoritative tone. _

_Mateus was speechless and gulped nervously, he looked around to find that nobody was going to help him and they were all glaring at him. He accepted his defeat and bowed his head, "My apology, Lady Astraea" he turned towards the brothers, "Lord Ardyn and Lord Somnus. I just worried about my people, that is all, that's the reason why I speak such nonsense, please forgive me," Ardyn and Somnus gazed towards his sister and nodded._

_The fire maiden sighed in disapproval. She closed her eyes and opened them again. Somnus noticed how it glowed a bit he wanted to speak up but her sister beat him to it._

"_You're forgiven Lord Mateus, after all, all of us have the same sentiment," she stood up and gazed around, "I know this is a troublesome time we are having negative thoughts. It has been half a year since the starscourge came and plunged our star into darkness. But please don't let the darkness slip into your hearts. Fight it! Don't let fear, sorrow, and anger fill your heart. Instead, have the __**COURAGE**_ _to fight and don't lose __**HOPE**_ _and we can overcome this with __**LOVE **__inside our hearts to show us in the right path." she held both her hand into her heart. "That is what I asked you for, give __**Courage**__, __**Hope,**_ _and __**Love**_ _those who need it the most," she gazed around the table. All of them are giving her a look of admiration, "And don't worry fate might turn into our favor now, for the flames of the God of Fire had been awakened …" she announced._

_They gave her a baffled look, she noticed it and she gave them a very bright and warm smiled she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, she opened it again this time her crimson eyes are now glowing, all of them gasped at the sight of it but before she could talk a loud bell rang signaling a daemon attack._

_Suddenly the door burst open and a soldier came inside and he was panting and gasping, "LORD ARDYN! LORD SOMNUS! Daemons are attacking!" _

_Both warriors stood up, "Ready the army! Somnus announced as he looked at Gilgamesh. The shield nodded and ran out the door with the soldier. _

_Ardyn remained calm and collected as he saw the fear in the eyes of the monarchs, "Please stay calm you're safe here, Bahamut crystal will protect you" he said as he looked at Aera, "Stay here and calmed them down," the oracle nodded and proceed to guide the female leaders to safety._

_Both brothers ran out of the room but Somnus stopped at Astraea's side, "Stay here don't go out, just help Aera and Rosa…" before she could reply and he went outside the room. The video faded to black._

**…**

Back at the king's chambers, Reno took a seat on the floor and pulled out a bag of chips and started to eat it, "This is going to be great!" he said enthusiastically as he stuffed his mouth full of chips. All the people turned to him and shook their heads.

'_Reno will be Reno,' _ they all thought.

Somnus just sighed and continued the video.

**…**

_The video started when both brothers are now at the field in front of Nibelheim at sunset. Somnus eye's sharpened as he gazed at the daemons in front of him, there were hordes of them. Some are composed of common daemons like Imps, Goblins, and Flans. Some can deal massive damage like Reaper, Ronin, and Arachne. One red giant is stomping towards them avoiding the smaller daemon at his feet. In the very back was the leader, a giant black dog with three heads. Somnus gritted his teeth. He and Ardyn were still recovering from the past fight which just happened a few days ago. And they are outnumbered for some of their soldiers succumb to the scourge and Ardyn couldn't heal them all in them. Even with Ardyn disapproval, they ended their life for their safety and some of them even requested it because they don't want to turn and hurt the people they love. Somnus gazed at his brother who was beside him holding his sword and getting ready to attack. The other lords went and helped them with their own small army even with that, they are still outnumbered._

_He took a deep breath and murmured, "Brother we are outnumbered…"_

_Ardyn turned to him, "Are you losing hope Somnus?" he raised his eyebrows towards him._

_The younger brother shook his head, "No… you?" he asked as his sword materialized in front of him._

"_When did I ever back down," he smirked as he tightened his grip on his sword, "Be careful Somnus… we have loved ones waiting for us…"_

"_You too, Ardyn…" __**Aera**_ _is waiting for you," he smiled at his brother._

_The warrior whacked him in the back, "And __**Ashelia **__is waiting for you too," he chuckled._

_Then both brothers held their sword in front of them, "Get ready men! Don't let them destroy the gate and stone wall, protect our people!" Somnus shouted._

"_Don't forget Bahamut's light will guide us!" Ardyn raised his sword in the air._

_The soldiers around them yield in response._

"_Hey, brother?" Somnus asked as he glanced at him._

"_Yeah?"_

"_Let make a bet, whoever killed the most wins,"_

"_And the loser?"_

_The raven hair prince chuckled, "The loser will be helped Astraea try her new potions,"_

_Both of them laughed, after all, Astraea has been creating weird potions lately from the past months that caused them to get sick instead of getting better. Astraea is using them as test subjects for her creation, and they both hate it and are trying their best to avoid it by making bets on who will be the sacrifice and be Astraea's test subject for a month._

"_You are on! Somnus," Ardyn said as he shook the hand of Somnus. _

_His brother just smiled and shook his hand back, "Okay then… let's GO!"_

_But before they can run out the field a blazing red Silhouette moves past them. They all stood still as their eyes adjusted to the dark field before them. Both eyes widened as the Silhouette belonged to their little sister._

"_ASTRAEA!" They both screamed in unison and they were about to run after her but they stopped when her hair burst into flames embers fluttering from it._

_She ran towards the first horde of daemons which are the Imps, Goblins, and Flans. She raised both of her hands and it burst into flames. Then she waved her hand forward, the flames forming huge x in front of her, burning and obliterating the entire horde in an instant. She ran past the first horde and drew a normal rapier with her left hand while her right hand still had a fire spell. All the people stood shocked behind her including her brothers. _

_She is now going towards the horde of Reaper, Ronin, and Arachne. She raised her right hand and it burst into a larger flame and out came small fireballs and started to circle her body then one by one it went towards the daemons. Each daemon hit by the fireball burst into an inferno and turned into dust in mere seconds. The few remaining Ronins she used the rapier to kill. Thrusting the blade into the heart of the daemons. Some of the people started to go outside to see what was happening, some went to the stone tower to look. Aera and Rosa went outside together with the female rulers just like the other they were astonished as they watched Astraea kill the daemons with ease. She was too busy dealing with Arachne when the Red giant suddenly raised his massive sword and slashed it towards her._

"_Astraea!" Ardyn and Somnus shouted as they ran towards her. _

_While some of the people shouted, "LOOK OUT!"_

_Astraea was able to avoid the blade, she ducked as the blade passed above her head and hit the Arachne which she was fighting a minute ago. Then she stood up and with a flick of her wrist, the blade of the rapier burst into flame. It made both of her brothers stop at their tracks. The giant went to attack again this time she slashed upwards cutting the right arm of the red giant, the massive blade went into the air and landed between the two brothers. Then the daemon raised his left arm in the air and attacked her but he missed his giant fist collided with the ground. She used it and she ran up to his arm and stabbed the giant red in multiple succession, her final thrust went into the heart. Then her rapier glowed bright red and she shouted._

"_FLARE!" The blade exploded and she did a backflip to avoid the flames. As the flame died down the entire upper body of the daemon got obliterated._

_The people awed and gasped around her. Then the flames of the rapier died down with the blade shattered into a million pieces._

_She winced as some of the blade pieces went to her arm and cut her. Then suddenly out of nowhere the giant dog appeared and was ready to pounce on her. Its large sharp paws were raised above it._

"_ASTRAEA!" Again both brothers ran towards her then suddenly out of nowhere two huge talons slammed the giant dog in the ground from above then the talons burst into flames engulfing the daemon and the beast which the talons belonged to. The daemon howled in pain as it disintegrated into nothing. Then as the fire died down a huge red bird the same of the small mountain spread its massive wings as its head raised into the air and screeched. Its comb burst into flames and ran down on its back and wings. The flames lighting the area around it._

_Both brother's eyes widened as the sight of the giant bird. While the people behind them gasped. _

_Astraea chuckled, "RENO!" she said while looking up, "You did wait until the last minute to attack haven't you!" she crossed her arms._

_Reno laughed as he lowered his head, "But of course I'm saving my dramatic entrance," he smirked at her._

_She brushed his rainbow feather, "I should be the star in this fight," she said while smiling, "But we can share it," they both chuckled but they stopped when they heard howling and screeching behind them. All the people looked towards the source of the sound to find another horde of daemons. Both Reno and Astraea turned towards them._

"_Hey Reno, it's your turn now… let them remember the power of a __**PHOENIX!**_"

_He nodded and flapped his wings, he flew above them all his massive wings stretched wide. His comb burst into flames and ran down his entire body, engulfing him into flames. _

"_Meteor Wing!' with the flap of his wings several huge fireballs came out and went towards the horde. It wiped out the horde completely and he screeched again. Then he lowered himself behind Astraea._

_Astraea then turned around to her brother, the look of astonishment is still visible in their eyes. Reno then spread his wings again and announced._

"_PEOPLE OF EOS! I give you Ifrit's new champion and the new warrior of light __**ASTRAEA IZUNIA,**_" _her hair burst into flames, embers fluttering from it, her eyes glowing more crimson. "THE FIRE MAIDEN!" Reno shouted while a ring of fire appeared below her feet._

_Both brothers then lowered themselves on one knee, as people behind them followed them. As they witness the birth of the new warrior of light, the fire maiden._

_Somnus glanced up at her, their eyes met and she gave him a warm smile and he returned it as his memory faded into black._

**…**

The people inside the chamber were speechless, they never guessed that Astraea is that skillful in using the sword now it was cleared to them where she got her fighting skill. She has always had it even in the beginning.

"Wow, Astraea is good! No wonder she was able to defeat Zack during your training," Dave said as he turned to his sister.

Aerith just smiled sadly and nodded, "We always wonder where she got her skill from,"

Somnus chuckled and they turned to him, "Astra has been training her whole life. The matter of the fact we started training her back when she was 12 years old back on old Solheim. I even gave her her first rapier." he smiled as he remembered his fun memory.

"Does that mean Astraea is recalling her memory, is that the reason why she is so good at fighting?" Dave asked.

"That is yes and no," Reno answered, "Her memory is coming back but her mind is fighting it. She believes that it's her instinct and your teaching and being the daughter of the top two hunters but the truth is it's her memory that is coming back to her, she just doesn't know it yet."

"Well, that explains how she was able to kill the red giant that easily." Cor pointed out.

"Yeah, that was amazing!" Dave bellowed, "The first time I saw the video of her fighting the daemon, I was speechless. Love to see her in action in person now,"

"Don't worry Dave you will see it someday," Reno replied/

"So that means she will no longer need training?" Clarus asked while looking at Reno.

"No, she still needs it, after all, as for now, she can't remember her past and is a very bad idea…"

Their faces fell flat as they heard the guardian's remarks, Somnus noticed it and he wanted to console them but he decided not to, after all, they will feel more negative emotions as they continued recalling the past.

"Can we continue now?" he asked with an expressionless face. "I'm going to show you what happened that night when Astraea revealed to us where the starscourge came from."

"You're always so serious, Sommy, that's the reason why Astra likes Addy more," Reno said in a mocking tone.

The founder king just glared at him, "Ok then you show them your memory then." he said.

The guardian just nodded as the people around them watched the sphere lit up again.

**…**

_They are inside the assembly hall again with the other monarchs sitting at the grand table Astraea explained to them what happened. How she and Reno went to Mt. Ravatogh to seek Infernian blessing. How Ifrit appeared before them and granted her request to be his champion and how she hid it for the past six months._

"_So you're telling us that you had this ability for six months now and now just telling us? What had you been doing all this time Astraea!" Somnus raised his voice as he asked while gazing at his sister across the table._

_Astraea's head was down and her blood-red hair was covering her whole face making it the default of them to see her expression, "Well… I'm… been…" she trailed off as she continued clasping and squeezing her hands,"_

"_Astraea…" Ardyn called out to her name in a stern yet loving way._

_She bolted upright and tucked her lost hair and gazed at them. They were looking at her with a serious expression, especially Somnus whose arms are now crossed waiting for her answer. _

_She gazed beside him to find Reno just standing there in silence, "Hey Reno, can you help me?" she whispered._

"_Sorry can't do...you need to do alone this Fire maiden,"_

_She let out a puff of frustration and sat up straight, "Yes, I've been hiding my power for six months, I'm sorry for that… I have been training,"_

"_Training for what? You should have helped us in the first place after you got Ifrit's blessing, instead of hiding it for yourself," Lord Mateus said while smirking._

_She glared at him as her eyes glowed crimson, that made the lord shift to his seat, "I very sorry Lord Mateus, I have been training to control my ability. Ifrit flames are not easy to control, after all, my ability to summon flames is through my emotion. You don't want me to lose control and set fire to anything or anyone right __**Lord Mateus?..." **_she said while grinning, "_I want to be in control of it before I reveal it. That's the reason why I hid it for so long," she said, her crimson eyes stopping glowing._

_Mateus just nodded as he knew he was defeated once again._

"_If that is so you still should have told us Astraea… after all, we can teach you," Ardyn said._

"_No," she shook her head, "I can never ask you for that my dears brothers, after all, you two are busy protecting our people, and asking you to train me will only give you more work, your bodies can't handle it," she explained, "And besides your Bahamut's champion, your ability is different with mine our ability is just going to clash. And besides… I got a great mentor after all," she turned to her side, "My new guardian, my little Chocobo Reno…" she smiled at him._

"_You know I'm not a Chocobo right? I'm a phoenix," he said as he crossed his arms._

"_Yup," she grinned at him, "My little red phoenix who is much cuter in his Chocobo form."_

_The phoenix just sighed and patted her on the head, "I could never be mad at you, Princess," he said as he ruffled her hair._

_Her eyes sharpened as she unleashed a flaming punch in his stomach which sent him flying towards one of the stone pillars. His back collided with the pillar and he slid down while his black tunic went in flames._

"_Never touch my hair Reno and don't call me Princess!" she ordered while glaring at him._

_His marks glowed as he just chuckled and he stood up and put out the flames on his tunic, "As you wish, fire maiden," he said while bowing gracefully._

_She wanted to protest again but she stopped when she heard Somnus clear his throat. She slowly looked back at the table to see them all looking at them with dumbfounded expressions except for Somnus. She gulped and bowed, "I'm very sorry... I got carried away, that won't happen again." _

_Silence filled the room, she started to feel anxious, her hair started to flicker, red to black and black to red. Then both brothers burst out laughing at the sight of it. She glared at them which made them straighten up and stopped laughing. She just sighed and sat down on her seat while Reno went back on her side._

_She glanced at Aera, "Lady Aera?"_

"_Yes…"_

"_Are you able to talk to Bahamut?"_

"_No, he has not been answering my prayers, why?"_

_She sighed again, 'Well… he has been talking to me recently," she saw the look of bewilderment in the oracle face, "He revealed to me, the source of the Starscourge, and asked me to tell all of you…"_

_The people sitting on the table shifted on their sets as they heard the revelation._

_She saw their reaction, so she took a deep breath, "The source of the starscourge is..." she trailed off while looking at everybody, "Is…."_

_Somnus and Ardyn saw how reluctant she was. They were about to stand up to comfort her but Astraea continued her speech._

"_The source is __**US!**_" _she bellowed. This earned a few gasps from the leaders she saw that Lord Mateus is about to open his mouth so she beat him to it, "Please don't ask any question just let me continue." she said._

_Mateus closed his mouth and nodded, all the leaders followed him. _

"_The Starscourge is from us… from our __**HEARTS**_… _from the __**CHAOS**_ _inside of us…" she can hear a few murmurs around her. _

"_Astraea…" Ardyn whispered her name._

_She turned to her older brother, "Yes, brother,"_

"_What is this Chaos you speak off…"_

_She turned to Reno asking for help, Reno saw her eyes seeking his help and he sighed, "Fine, but you're going to help me explain it." she nodded._

_Reno stepped forward and held his right hand up, it burst into flames. The flames went in the center of the table, "Where do we start…" he trailed off, "Ah yes… let me start on the creation of this star… our world… let me introduce to you the giver of life our creator, the goddess Etro…" his flames showed a portrait of the goddess,(Fabula Nova Crystallis Logo)_

"_Etro? We have not heard her name before…" Somnus said while looking at the portrait._

"_Nobody knows that she exists brother… but just like Reno said she is our creator…" she answered him, "The Goddess is the one who brought life in this world with her blood she created our body, but with __**Chaos,**_ _she gave us our hearts… within each heart we have emotions, these emotions gave us the freedom to do what we like. But with these emotions, we can also fall into darkness, so Etro created the Astrals which will guide us in our life,"_

"_So where is the Goddess now?"_

"_We don't know… she has not shown herself after she created this world." Reno crossed his arms, "But the Astrals did a very good job on guiding us. Except for one…"_

"_Diabolos…" they all murmured the dark Astrals name._

_Astraea nodded, "Yes, Diabolos, instead of guiding us he wanted to rule over us… he learned how to use the chaos inside of us…" she put both hands on her heart_

"_He learned how to corrupt us, he turned courage into fear… hope into despair and love into hatred. After that, he took the chaos and turned it into these hideous beasts…his minions the daemons," she said as Reno's flames showed daemons._

"_With that, the First War of the Astrals happened," Reno continued, "And we all know what happened after all right?" he glanced at everybody. All of them nodded, after all, all of the people of Eos knew about the first war so he will not have to explain it. "After years of peace, one of the Astrals decided not to only guide us but helped us as well… Ifrit and his blessing,"_

"_Solheim…" Astraea murmured as she held her head down._

_Reno stopped and glanced as his master, "Are you okay?"_

_She nodded and raised her head, "Yes, I'm okay… please continue," she forced a smile. Reno noticed it but instead of acknowledging it he just smiled at her. After all, he wanted this thing over so Astraea could take a rest so he continued, "And we all know what happened to Solheim…"_

_All the people's eyes glanced towards the siblings waiting for any of them to react. Somnus saw this and voiced his concern._

"_Yes, we all knew about Solheim and the second War of Astrals… So what is the connection of the Starscourge… to us? Is this chaos?"_

_Reno sighed before he could answer him, Astraea held his arm for him to stop, "I take it from here Reno thank you…" he nodded and took a step back._

_She smiled at him and turned to her brother, "The Starscourge and the Miasma_ _is the physical embodiment of the Chaos which is inside us."_

_This earned a few concern looks from the leaders and both of her brothers. She just ignored it and continued her explanation. _

"_After the last war, Diabolos was weakened and he couldn't create his daemons anymore so he started to create this new kind of creature… the whispers," the flames showed a hooded figure made of black smoke(Whispers FF7 Remake)._

_This earned a few gasps, the eyes of the leaders were focused on the figure, and fear can be seen in their faces even the champions of Bahamut's had the same expression._

_Astraea glanced at the Whisper and towards the people in front of her, "The dark Astral created this creature from the negative emotions inside our hearts. But without the body, they are useless and can't attack, so…"_

"_He's turning us into daemons," Ardyn said in a low voice while looking at her._

_She nodded, "Yes," she paused for a bit and continued. "Without a body, the whispers don't have a place to go to so they stayed inside the heart. There they will corrupt the person's heart and soul by whispering negative thoughts which they got the name Whispers. "_

"_So this is where the starscourge will come into action?" Somnus asked._

"_Yes, brother…. Diabolos created the starscourge so that our body can mutate and turn into daemon so the whisper can take over and destroyed our soul and use our body us a vessel,"_

"_That explain why the people infected with the scourge are losing their mind before turning into daemons, is all Diabolos fault,"_

"_Yes, but he not only at fault here, but we are also too,"_

_All eyes landed on her, "What do you mean Lady Astraea, are you blaming us? Mateus asked in a mocking tone._

_"No... we all contribute to the creation of the starscourge. Our negative emotions are the one who feeds them. Lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. Is the source all of our downfall and our darkness."_

"_So how can we avoid this?" Ardyn asked._

_She shook her head, "We can't after all, __Darkness is the heart's true nature._"

_The leaders started to murmur and started to show despair._

"_But.." she stood up and this earned the attention of the leaders they turned to her, "We can still fight it, darkness might be in our hearts but we have the strength to fight it and yes the heart may be weak and sometimes it might even give in but I've learned that deep down there's a light that never goes out and that is our way out of this never-ending darkness, believe in your heart and don't let it fall into darkness," she said as her eyes turned glowed more crimson. _

_This made the leaders calm down and showed admiration for the fire maiden._

"_And the starscourge, what can we defeat it?" Somnus asked._

"_With Astral's blessing of course," she said while glancing at both of them, "Your light can kill the daemons at night and Ardyn healing can stop the spread of the starscourge,"_

"_But you said it yourself Astraea, I can't take so much of the scourge inside of my body, so how can we defeat it?" Ardyn said while looking down at his hand. Aera saw this and held it in her hands._

"_Don't worry my love, I will be here for you, I will be here in every step of the way," Aera smiled brightly at him and he returned to it._

_But Somnus' expression turned dark. Astraea saw this and she knew Somnus was concerned about Ardyn health so she cleared her throat._

"_Ahem!" they all turned to her, "Are you forgetting something?" she asked while drumming her right fingers on the table._

_Both brothers titled their head but before they could ask a question her hair burst into flames, her eyes glowing like the raging flames then she smiled brightly at them, "You're not the only one the has the blessing of the Astrals you know," she held her right hand up and it burst into flames. "I'm Ifrit's new champion just like you. I have a blessing that can turn the tide in our favor," she said while smiling, "Just like I said I've been training and I learned that my flames are brighter and hotter than ordinary flames and daemons are afraid to get near it. So just like what our father did I will share my flames to the rest of the world and about the starscourge… I can contribute to healing our people…" she turned towards Reno. _

"_Are you sure about this?"_

"_Yup, they need to see it, so please go get him,"_

_Reno nodded and walked out of the room._

_The video faded to the back and went back again. Reno is now back at the assembly hall with a man wearing a black cloak that covers his face. The man had a difficult time walking before they reached the table. The man fell on his knees and revealed that he is now at the final stage of the scourge. His face full of darkness tendrils, the white on his eyes is now black and his now shaking violently._

_Ardyn suddenly stood up and walked towards them, Aera, Somnus followed him while the other leaders stood up and back away from the infected. The healer kneeled beside the man and was ready to heal him._

"_No!" Astraea yanked her brother's hand away._

"_What are you doing Astraea! I need to heal him, he will turn any minute now!"_

"_I know... " she walked between the two, "That's the point, I need him to turn into daemon so that I can show you my other ability,"_

"_Your other ability?" her brother asked as he stood up._

"_Yes, so please, stay back… and bright out your swords… just in case," _

_Both brothers nodded and summoned their swords._

_The man started to shout as the scourge started to mutate his body, Astraea kneeled and comforted him, "Don't worry this will be over soon and you will see your daughter again… I promise you that," she said while holding his trembling hands._

"_Thank… you… lady-" the guard did not finish his sentence when his body burst into black smoke, Reno yanked Astraea away as the man's body turned into a daemon. After the black smoke cleared it revealed an Ereshkigal. The daemon is growling and baring his fangs at them._

_Somnus took a step forward and pointed his sword towards it. Astraea went in front of him, "Stop I got this…" she said as while taking a step forward, "To be honest Bahamut have given me his blessing too,"_

"_Bahamut did what?" both brothers asked in unison._

_She did not turn to them and continued walking towards the daemon, "He gave his light to me so that I can combine it with Ifrit's flames so that I can do this…." she took a deep breath, her hairs burst into flames, her eyes glowing like embers, "Chaos that sought and cling upon the darkened hearts. Hear my prayer and come into the light and ignite the flame of your heart and be free from the chaos of the dark." she chanted, blue flames burst from her hand and started to circle her, "Flame of Purification!" she shouted as the blue flames went towards the daemon and engulfed it._

_The daemon shrieked in pain as the flames devoured its body. The scream filled the entire room and the hallway. After a few seconds, the blue flames died down and the Ereshkigal is no more and replaced by the man. The man fell into the floor but Reno was able to catch him, Astraea went towards him, "Are you okay, sir? she asked._

_The man raised his head, revealing the scourge had left his body, "Yes…" he replied in a weak voice._

"_Good to hear," she smiled brightly at him as she helped him up, he stood up and fell on the floor again shouting. He clutched his heart and suddenly a cloud of black smoke came out his body. A Whisper appeared above the man. It shrieked as it flew away from them all the people inside the room started to panic as it circled the entire room looking for a way out and it stopped and hovered above the table and glanced at everybody. Its faceless head turned towards the fire maiden who was kneeling on the floor. It shrieked again and went to her, but before it could reach her, both brothers went in front of her and cut the Whisper in half, its body disappeared in an instant. _

_The people inside the room started to calm down, both Ardyn and Somnus looked down at their sister who was still comforting the man, "Please take a seat here," she held her hand up and guided the man into her seat. After she turned towards her brother._

_"See now I can really help you!" she said while smiling as she held in her right hand up, blue flames started to appear, "I could help those people who already turned into daemons, with these flames I can purify their body and to get the whisper out of their hearts and with your light you can kill those pesky whispers, I don't why but I can't kill them... so now we need to work together to defeat this darkness so stop fighting okay!" she said enthusiastically while putting out the blue flames._

_Both brothers were speechless for a while but both regained their composure and smiled at her._

"_Then we shall do it, we will work together this time," Somnus said._

"_No more fighting?" she asked as she dispelled the blue flames._

"_Yes," Ardyn chuckled, "No more fighting,"_

_She laughed and hugged them both, they both returned the hugged. They shared a bonding moment for a while and they broke the embrace, "So you can now purify the people, how about me, should I continue to heal them?" Ardyn asked. _

"_Yes," she nodded, "I can't heal the starscourge in its early stage, unlike you, brother. The flame of purification is the last resort," she trailed off and held both of his hands, "You still need to heal them, I know your body will be affected by it but...I can now help you with that."_

"_How?" he asked._

"_By purifying it of course," she said while grinning, "But it will hurt a lot but you're the champion of Bahamut so you can take it."_

"_Wait... what!" he tried to yank his hands away but she just gripped in tightly then blue flames burst from her hands and ran towards his shoulders and up to his body. He shouted as the flames engulfed him._

"_ADRYN!" Aera shouted and ran towards him but Reno stopped her._

"_He's okay, Astraea knows what she's doing, trust her!"_

_Ardyn continued to shout as the blue flames continued to ravage his body then the flames died down and suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his heart, he clutched it suddenly 12 Whispers came out of his body. It hovered around them all but it stopped and turned their head towards Astraea again._

_She saw it, "Oh.. Come on!" she shouted as the whisper went towards her again. She was able to dodge all of them, "I little help Somnus!" she called out his brother._

_Somnus quickly and skillfully kills all the whispers. Then he turned to his sister who was now catching her breath, "Thanks Sommy!" she smiled at him, he smiled back. Then they both turned their attention towards their older brother who was still on his knees, Aera beside him comforting him._

"_Did it hurt that much Addy?" she asked teasingly as she kneeled beside him._

"_What do you think?" Ardyn answered as he turned towards her and gave her a warm smile, he reached out and patted her on the head, "Thank Astraea…just like you said they kept whispering negative thoughts into my head." he stood up._

"_Is that the reason why you tried to kill me?"Somnus asked._

_"I remember it correctly you tried to kill me too," _

_Astraea could feel that there will be another fight brewing from them. She sighed loudly, "Oh please… you two are at fault!" they turned towards her, "To be exact is the fault of the whispers inside of the two of you!"_

_"I have one too?" Somnus asked while holding his hand in his heart._

_She gazed up and studied him, "Yes… but is not that strong to corrupt you just yet but I can purify you like Ardyn," she stood up and held both of his arms. Before he can protest she purified him too._

_Somnus felt down on his knees while the blue flames engulfed his body. After the flames died down a small whisper came out from his body and this time Ardyn is the one who killed it._

_"See, Just like a said everybody of us has darkness inside our heart. You just need to fight it and not let them win. But if you do fall into darkness I can help you seek the light again." She turned towards the leader, "So please… help us in this fight, after all, we are all the people of Eos."_

_All the leaders nodded and bowed their heads, "__As you command Princess...__" they said in unison._

_Astraea just puffed and glared at them, before she could speak Ardyn patted her on the head._

_"Thank you, our little star, your ability will be a great help."_

"_Your welcome," she nodded, "Now you heal everyone and went your body can't take it anymore I can purify it and Somnus here will be deal the final blow, he will kill the whispers,"_

_They turned towards him, Somnus smiled and crossed his arms "As long you two will be fine doing it, and Astra will purify me too then can count on me," _

_She nodded, "Of course! so… that means I can go daemon hunting with you now?" she asked sheepishly._

_Both brothers turned to her and said in unison, "No… you're grounded and not allowed to go out of the palace!"_

"_What! Why!" she bellowed._

_Ardyn turned to his brother. Somnus already knew what was going to say. They both smiled maliciously at each other and turned towards their little sister. "Well let's count, You went to Mt. Ravatogh in the dead of night, endangering your life and Reno's as well.-"_

"_BUT I-"_

_Somnus did not let her finished, "You been sneaking out at night and putting us to sleep which we ordered you not too, and for not telling us about you being Ifrit's new champion in the beginning, so that is four counts of misbehaving that is one week for every count so you are grounded for a month!"_

"_What! That is not fair! I'm a champion now and a warrior of light you can't do this to me!" she whined._

"_Yes, you are but you're still our little sister and we are you big brothers so do what we say fire maiden." Ardyn chuckled as he ruffled her hair._

_Astraea eyes went glaring at him and punched him on the stomach which knocked him down on the floor, "Don't ever ruffle my hair!" she shouted and started to leave the room, "Let's go Reno" she said as she passed him._

_Reno did not move and looked back at the people behind them, their jaws of the leaders went agape. He just chuckled at the sight of it._

"_Wait... Astraea…" Ardyn called her name as he stood up with the help of Aera._

_She stopped and looked back at them._

_Ardyn grinned at her, "Your title suits you well Fire maiden" he stopped, his smile went wider "It fits your fiery personality, dear sister," _

_With those remarks, Sonmnus, Aera, and Gilgamesh tried to keep their laughter in but Reno burst into a fit of laughter._

"_See I told you they will like the title... Fire maiden," he said mockingly then looked at her, he was met by glaring eyes._

_With that, her brothers and the other can't hold it anymore and burst into laughter. _

_Astraea just glared at them, "I HATE YOU ALL!" she shouted and went out and slammed the door shut._

"_Wait! Astra! Come back we're joking!" Reno shouted as he chased her. The video faded to black._

* * *

**A/N:** I know the source of the starscourge from the game is from a parasite, but it does not really say where it is from so I just made my own version of it and connected it with the _**chaos **_from Fabula Nova Crystallis. Etro will play a big part in my story after all Etro was the main goddess in FF versus 13 before they changed it. Just like 13, I will make Noctis eyes crimson, after all, his eyes turned red if he summoned Astrals. But in this story, the guardians are the only ones you can see and beside Noctis is more badass with crimson eyes.

THANK YOU! hope you enjoy this and have a wonderful day and keep safe!✩

If I want to see Tifa(Astraea) and Noctis look side by side with red eyes. You can search Deviantart Noctis X Tifa {Crimson Eyes} TiffaCaelum and credit to the owner.


	22. Chapter 20

**Recalling of the Past: Sister's Keeper**

_"Do you know why the big brother is born first? It's to protect the little brothers and sisters that come after him." -Kurosaki Ichigo(Bleach)_

* * *

Ardyn stepped out of the car and walked towards the floating fortress of Zegnautus. He was met by two of his personal female guards in the grand hallway.

"Chancellor Izunia, welcome back, " both of them said with a bow.

"Thank you...ladies, it must be tired waiting for me to come back?"Ardyn gave them a seductive smile while tipping his fedora at them.

"Not at all, Chancellor," one of them replied, "You must be tired? Do you want us to accompany you to your chamber and help you relax Chancellor?" she said while stepping to his right and putting her hands on his broad shoulder and the other guard went and hooked a hand in his left arm.

He chuckled, "Sorry… ladies but not today…" he said and stepped forward and he continued to walk towards the elevator not stopping even hearing a disappointed sigh from both guards. He just chuckled to himself and pushed the elevator button. When the door opened he was met by one of the Imperial Generals.

"General Caligo," he greeted.

"Chancellor…," The General gave him away as he entered the elevator, the door closed and the elevator moved, "I heard that Glauca failed to get the girl and we have lost three dreadnought, several airships, and about a hundred magitek soldiers."

"Yes, he did,"

"Are you taking responsibility for this failed mission, Izunia? after all, Glauca is under your command." Caligo asked while smirking.

Ardyn's face fell and gaze at him, Caligo shifted on his feet as he felt an ominous present inside the elevator.

The chancellor just chuckled darkly, "It's just one battle, besides we had the Lucians under our feet now,"

"Are you sure? Our army has difficulty defeating their defenses as of late they are able to get back the bases we established and I heard that you brought Dr. Hojo's family from Galahd. What is this girl you after? what are you planning?"

"Don't worry about it…Just do your job and I do mine," the elevator door opened and he stepped out and tipped his hat towards The General. "Good night General," he grinned at him as the door closed.

After closing the doors of his chamber he let out a deep sigh and removed his hat, scarf, and coat and threw it on his bed and he opened a mini-fridge and took a bottle of red wine and he poured himself a glass and went towards his desk beside the unlit fireplace. He threw himself at the chair and put both feet up at the table and leaned back. With a snapped of his finger, purple flames burst out from the fireplace and a whisper appeared.

"Report…" he said as he took a sip of wine.

"Our master was defeated…" After hearing that Ardyn slammed the wine glass on the table, It broke under his hand and it cut him but after a few seconds, the cuts have now healed. He turned towards the whisper, "WHAT!"

The whisper back out and bowed and said everything with the help of the purple flames. He saw how the _Warriors of Light _defeated the Dark Astrals with the help of their guardians and the other Astrals.

"_The warriors of Light_ eh…" Ardyn said while glancing at the purple fire. His eyes landed at the fire maiden, "Ifrit's Champion…" he suddenly felt a pain in his heart he clutched it suddenly the daemons inside his head started to whisper to him, ordering him to kill the fire maiden. His amber eyes started to glow yellow.

He took a deep breath, "If that is what the Dark Astral wishes, Then I will do that, as I'm his champion, I will kill her. It will be a great deal, killing someone close to my dear brother's descendant, just like he killed mine." he chuckled darkly at the purple flames turned in normal flames and as whispers disappeared inside his head. He then materialized something out of thin air, a blue-winged dagger. "I will destroy everything that my dear brother built, Insomnia will fall…" he said as the starscourge dripped from his eyes and mouth. His dark laughter filled his room as the flames started to die down. "Wait for me _warriors of light_… I'm coming…"

**…**

Back in Insomnia, Somnus felt uneasy his body shivered, his former guardian noticed it. The fox jumped from the coffee table towards his lap.

"Are you okay, Master?" she asked while tilting her head sideways. "Do you wish to stop?"

The Founder King brushed the uneasy feeling away and looked down and patted her, "I'm fine Cally," he scratched her behind the ear, the guardian purred happily. (search about it Foxxes can actually purr.)

While Somnus is busy with Carbuncle, the people inside the chamber took a minute of rest. Drinking their water and shifting in their seats. After a few minutes, the founder king resumed talking.

"Now you know where the Starscrouge is from, I hope it can help you defeat it in the future," he said while glancing at them and they nodded in response.

"Astraea is very different back then, she acted like a true Princess and Warrior of Light, what happened to her?" Clarus said.

Reno stood up, "What do you mean what happened?" she always liked that…"

The Shield turned to him, "Really? right now she is acting like a child and kept on causing trouble…"

The guardian snorted, "First of all dear Shield," he walked towards the coffee table and leaned in. "She is a teenager, and teenagers supposed to act like that… second…my master always acts like that…. sometimes she will act mature and tough and sometimes she will act like a child that makes her...her. If you don't like that then we are going to have a problem…" he snarled at him while his fingers turned into talons.

Clarus did not move or replied to his remarks. Somnus who was watching the whole time stood up and put a hand on the guardian's shoulder.

"That's enough Reno…"

Reno turned towards him, his anger faded and he stood straight, and looked around. "Sorry about that," he turned towards the Shield, "I apologize, Clarus… my emotions are kind of mixing right now," he stepped back, "Somnus might be ready to recall the past, but I do not…" he said while sitting down at the floor, "I don't want to see that again…"

Somnus glanced down at him, "You don't have to see it Reno, I can handle this,"

"Psshh…" he said while waving his right hand in the air, "I'm her guardian, Founder King, just like you said, we have to get through this if we want to move forward. Just hurry up, I want to go to her now…"

The former warrior just nodded and continued his story.

"That very night Ardyn, Astraea, and I made a promise… and the bond is what is keeping up together," The sphere lit up.

**…**

_Somnus is following his sibling towards the bottom of the stair in the throne room where they kept Bahamut's Crystal. (FFXV: Episode Ardyn-Prologue)_

"_So this is the reason why you ordered our men to put fire baskets inside here," Ardyn said as he walked towards one of the said baskets and held his hand towards the raging fire. "This is Ifrit's flames…. no, It's your flames right, little star…?" he turned towards her._

_She pouted, "I told you never to call me that brother!" she marched at him and punched him in the shoulder, "I'm a __**Warrior of Light **__now and __**Ifrit's champion**__, you should treat me as such!"_

_He laughed, "Sorry can't do…" he smiled at her lovingly, "You still our dear little sister, our little Fire maiden and nothing will change that," he said while ruffling her hair._

_Astraea snapped and punched him in the stomach which sent the healer down on his knees. She went down and the two scuffled._

_Somnus just let out a long sigh. His siblings looked up to him. Astraea had Ardyn in an armlock. They just looked at him in amusement begging him to join them. He sighed again and walked towards the edge of the circular chamber and leaned one of the pillars gazing at the dark sky. He could hear his sibling walking towards him. Astraea went and sat down on the floor letting her legs dangling at the edge of the building. Ardyn went beside her and leaned against a pillar._

"_Let us make a promise…" she said while looking at the sea._

_Both brothers gazed down at her, she gazed up and patted the space beside her, both of them went and sat down. _

"_I promise to be there for both of you… I will protect you just like you protected me all this time…" she said and held both of their hands._

_Somnus chuckled, "What happened to you? did Ifrit's flames change you? your acting and saying weird things," _

_She turned to him, "I serious Somnus! I want to help!" she turned towards her right to Ardyn, "I want to help both of you. Now that I'm capable of doing it, just promise me that you two will never fight again!"_

_Both brothers glanced at each other and laughed at one another, "We promise" they said in unison._

"_Just promise us that you will never go alone out there," Somnus said as he withdrew his hand and patted her on the head._

"_And never put us to sleep," Ardyn added._

"_I will not keep such a promise," she said while swaying her legs back and front happily like a child._

_With that, the siblings burst out laughing. Their laughter filled the empty throne room. Astraea then took a deep breath and gaze at the sea, "After we defeated __**Starscourge**_ _and __**Diabolos**_ _let us sit here and watch the sunrise together…" she said glancing at both brothers._

_They nodded and leaned on her shoulders, "That is a promise.." they both whispered._

_After sharing a moment of silence she took another deep breath and started to sing. (Final Fantasy XIII - "Promise" - Serah's Theme | ENGLISH ver | AmaLee)._

_After Astraea finished her song they stayed silent for a while gazing at the dark sky. _

_Somnus cleared his throat and sat up straight, "So does this mean you are going hunting with us now?"_

_She nodded eagerly, "I want to but every time I use my ability my weapon shattered… no blade can withstand my flames,"_

"_That won't do…," Ardyn laughed as he stood up, "The champion of Ifrit should have a weapon as magnificent as a raging fire. Am I right dear brother?" he glanced at him._

_The younger brother just chuckled and stood up, "Your right, no sister of ours will be weaponless," they both looked down at her and she just looked at them puzzled. _

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Just wait for a week, Astraea then you will know…" Ardyn held a hand towards her, "I just have one request?"_

"_What is it?" she asked as she stood up._

"_Let me borrow Ifrit's flames for a while," _

_She wanted to ask another question but she was stopped by Somnus who put a hand on her shoulder and she turned to him._

"_Trust us… Astraea...you won't regret it," _

"_Okay…if you said so...I trust you Addy and Sommy," _

"_Your Ifrit's champion and a Warrior of Light now you should start acting like one, Astraea," Somnus crossed his arms "Stopping calling in our nickname. Your not a children anymore,"_

_She just pouted and sighed, "Okay, I will Lord Somnus…" she said while bowing towards him._

_Ardyn chuckled and patted him on the back, "You asked for Sommy," Somnus' face turned into a frown. The brother and sister burst out laughing. _

_The video faded to black, then to white again to show another memory._

**...**

_Somnus and Ardyn were waiting in front of Astraea's chamber door._

"_What brings you to my chamber Lord Somnus?" she bowed at him while holding the door opened._

"_That enough Astraea, you made your point, stop calling me __**Lord**__... please," Somnus said with a frown in his face._

"_As you wish Big brother Sommy," she grinned at him as she opened the door wider. _

"_See Somnus you can't win against her," Ardyn whacked him on the back as he passed him._

"_Oh… Older brother Addy, what brings you here too?" she said teasingly._

"_Older brother?" Ardyn chuckled, "We're not kids anymore Astraea, please call us by our names no more nicknames." he pleaded._

"_Fine," she scoffed, "Don't call me little sister either. _

_Ardyn chuckled, "Sorry I can't… our little star," he teased as ruffled her hair._

_She glared at him and pushed away, she stomped towards her bed where Reno is leaning down and reading a book._

_Both brothers just glanced at each other and laughed silently for they knew that their sister would never change and she will keep calling them that. Astraea saw their reaction, her face softened and she smiled at them._

"_So why are you here anyway? I thought you were going daemon hunting, do you still need potions?" she said as he walked towards a table full of potions._

"_No, we are here for you Astraea," Ardyn said he took a seat on the circular table in front of him, "We here to give you something," _

"_Give me something?" she tilted her head._

"_You're giving it now?" Reno bellowed and leaped out of the bed, "You finally finished it?"_

"_What is it?" Astraea asked while glancing between the three of them._

"_You have to wait, Astraea, for our blademaster is not here yet,"_

"_You mean Lord Gilgamesh?"_

"_Yup, he just went and retrieved it from the armory," Somnus said, taking the seat next to Ardyn's._

"_Armoury?" she asked as she took a seat too._

"_We heard from the royal guards today… that you shattered another rapier, are you okay?" she nodded, Ardyn patted her head, "Good to hear…"_

"_Yeah… it sucks… I kept destroying all the weapons they have given me, the blade can't stand my flames," she lowered her head down. _

_Reno walked towards them and stopped beside her, "Don't worry Astraea, looks like your brothers have the answer to your predicament."_

_She raised her head, "Really?" _

_Both brothers nodded then the door opened. Gilgamesh entered the room, the blade master went towards them and laid the sword case down. Somnus slid the case towards her. Gilgamesh bowed down and stepped back._

"_What is this?" She stood up and gazed at the red sword case, her eyes winded as she saw the Izunia chest engrave on it, "Izunia? what is it?!"_

"_Just opened it to find out," Somnus said eagerly._

_She nodded and opened it to find a rapier with a red sheath, "Wow…" she gazed at the winged crossguard and she traced her fingers at the red and blue feather phoenix feather engraved on the leather sheath, "It's beautiful,"_

"_It's your Astraea," the black-haired warrior said as he took it sheath and handed it to her._

"_Really?" she reached for it, with a deep breath she unsheathed the rapier from its cover, "Woah…." she awed while stepping back. Her red eyes widened looking at the crimson blade, "It's amazing Somnus! It's this really mine? Her eyes twinkled as she looked at him._

_He laughed heartily, "Yes, it's yours who else uses a rapier and have mastery over it,"_

_She suddenly hugged him, "Thank you... Somnus!" she said joyfully._

"_Try imbuing it with your flames, I'm sure it won't shatter," he took a step back._

_She nodded and with a flick of her wrist the rapier burst into flames. She let her flame engulf the blade for a minute after it died down. The crimson blade is still intact._

"_WOW," she awed._

"_You named it Solis," Somnus said._

"_Wait, what? I named it Solis? Is this not my first time holding it,"_

"_Yes, It's Somnus gift to you at your sixteen birthday back at Solheim," Ardyn explained._

"_Really… I don't remember it…" she said while glancing at the blade._

"_If you don't remember it then it won't remember this too," Ardyn took a small case from his cloak and handed it to her. She nodded and put the rapier down and grabbed the case from Ardy's hands, "It's mine gift to you…" he smiled and patted her on the head, "Use it wisely…"_

_Astraea opened the case to find a pair of 12 inches sheathed daggers. Both have opened a winged crossguard. But the two blades are different from each other, one is blue and the other is red. She noticed that it has the same material as her rapier, "What it is made of anyway?" she asked as she spun the daggers in her hands._

"_Mithril and gemstone" Ardyn answered as he gazed at her while she was still doing tricks with the daggers, "The blue one is made of Sapphire_ _and the other one is Ruby... both from Mt. Ravatogh, and was forged from Ifrit's flames," after hearing that she dropped the daggers._

"_What? Ifrit's flames, you mean our father's?"_

_Ardyn nodded as he picked up the daggers, "Same goes to your rapier, it got damaged during the War of the Astrals," he said as he put the dagger back into its sheaths and laid down beside Solis. "After you received Ifrit's flame we are able to repair it again," he said while looking at Somnus. "We just took us quite sometime after all Ifrit's flames are quite difficult to use."_

_She walked towards the table and gazed at the weapons, "You still will not tell me what happened back then?" she asked. They both had an expression of sorrow ran across their faces, Ardyn looked away while Somnus just continued to look at her with sadness, "I know you won't tell and I trust you… I know you are protecting me from the pain but…" she paused, "I just want to remember it, even if it is painful."_

_Somnus sighed, "We very sorry Astraea, but just like we said, it's better forgotten…"_

_She gazed at him, he saw the tears in the corner of her eyes, he hurriedly went to her and hugged her, "Come please don't cry Astraea… maybe in the future, your memory will come back but for now, just be proud that you're continuing our father's legacy as Ifrit's champion. Don't have to worry about the past and always remember we are where," he said while stroking her back gently. She just buried her face in his body, "Thank Sommy…" she whispered._

_Ardyn just sighed deeply and went to hug them both. They deepened the embrace and stayed like that whole minute._

"_So I can go hunting with you?" she asked cheerfully as she broke the embrace. Both brothers just gazed at her dumbfounded in how she changed her emotion so fast._

"_Sure… three is better than two," Ardyn said while smiling, "Better yet let us make a wagger, however, kills the most daemons win and have the right to ordered the losers,"_

"_Okay! Let's do that!" she bellowed in excitement as she grabbed her weapon and dragged Ardyn out the door, "Somnus Let go…" she called him._

_Somnus just shook his head, "Here we go again… don't ever complain if you two got wounded!" he shouted back as he followed them outside with that the memory faded._

**…**

Somnus laughed in silence as he watched his memory.

"So what happened then, Somnus, are the three of you victorious in the battle against the starscourge?" Regis asked.

The warrior of light turned to him, "Yes… with the three of us are able to lessen the effect of the scourge in Eos. At night we will hunt daemons and at day Ardyn will heal the people and if the scourge starts to affect him. Astraea will use her flames to get the whisper out of his body and we will start all over again, that is our routine. That is how we spend our days as _The Warriors Of Light_," he sighed and took a seat, "As time passed Nibelheim's influence grew bigger and bigger and people started to offer their allegiance to us. The more people started to gather inside the town the more daemon came. We were able to defeat them all and safeguard the land we called our new home. The small little kingdom of Nibelheim grew bigger than Solheim." He sat up straight and gazed around the room, "It was difficult to govern it at first but Astraea kept us going with her positive attitude even after a whole week of fighting, healing and purifying, Astraea energy never diminished just like the flames is kept on raging on until we defeated the starscourge,"

"So what happened after that?" Dave asked.

"With the blessing of the Astrals we fought valiantly for three years we able to lessen the effect of the starscourge in the land and the miasma is getting thinner and thinner at our fourth year we were close in annihilating the starscourge but something happened," Somnus answered as he lowered his gaze, "We learned that being _Warriors of Light _is both a blessing and a curse. "

Regis saw how the expression of founder King changed together with Reno. Instead of asking questions, he decided to remain silent with the rest as they waited anxiously as the sphere lit up again.

**…**

_The warriors of light and some soldiers were standing around the campfire at Brackham Haven. After a long night of daemon hunting, they took a few minutes of rest before going home. Ardyn and Somnus were feeding their Chocobos. While Astraea was near the campfire, sitting at the ground leaning on Reno for support, her eyes were closed and she seemed very tired._

"_Looks like our dear sister is tired," Ardyn said._

"_Yeah you're right, have you noticed that she always likes that after every fight?" he asked as he studied his sister._

"_I noticed it too… maybe we should give her a few weeks for rest…"_

"_We all need a week of rest, brother… maybe we should postpone hunting for a while. You too need rest. You healed five people today, make sure Astraea purifies you when we get home."_

_Before Ardyn could answer a screech can be heard at the distance. Astraea and Reno bolted upright. The soldiers drew their swords while Ardyn and Somnus materialized theirs. Their eyes narrowed at the source of the screech. In the distance, a Reaper was walking towards them at a slowed pace dragging its scythe behind it. _

_Somnus is ready to warp to kill it but Astraea stop him_

"_Somnus stop!"_

_He turned to her, she walked towards them, "Look at its heart," they turned towards the daemon to see its heart glowing red, "It's a human… I must purify him…"_

_In the past, they have learned that Daemon with glowing red hearts are humans who succumbed to the scourge and turned into a daemon. With that the brothers lowered their weapons and gave way to her, "Be careful Astraea…" they both whispered to her as she passed them._

_She nodded and slowly walked towards the daemon while Reno stood behind the brothers. She took a deep breath and raised her hands and started to recite the chant. _

"_Chaos that sought and cling upon the darken hearts_

_Hear my prayer and come into the light._

_Ignite the flame of your heart and be free from the chaos of the dark. _

_Flame of Purification!"_

_Blue flames burst from her hands and went towards the daemon it howled as the flames surrounded it. She stood a few feet from the daemon waiting for the flames to do its work._

"_Why is taking this long?" Somnus asked while stepping forward._

_Ardyn sensed something was wrong too and decided to call his sister, "Astraea get away from the-" before he could finish his sentence the daemon burst out from the blue flames unharmed and raised its scythe in the air. Astraea was so close that she did not have time to react. The scythe went down hard on her, cutting her on the right shoulder and she fell down._

"_ASTRAEA!" Both brothers shouted as they warped towards her, Somnus went to catch her while Ardyn pierced the daemon in the heart._

_**...**_

The video stopped as Aerith can help but to scream. Regis too was caught off guard that he suddenly stood up.

"Be calm Regis is only a memory," Somnus said while eyeing the King, Regis took a deep breath and lowered himself in his seat. Suddenly Reno stood up, "Where are you going Reno," he asked.

The guardian just smiled at him, "Give me a sec, I will see if Astraea is okay, be right back," he winked and he disappeared in a flash of red light.

Somnus just sighed and looked at the others, just like the King, they are trying their best to calm down.

**...**

Reno suddenly appeared beside Astraea's bed to find her peacefully sleeping, "Good you're not being affected," He leaned in and stroked her hair gently, "Sleep well, Princess I will be right back," he whispered and with a flash of red light he returned to the others with his returned Somnus glanced at him,

"How is she?" Somnus asked with a concerned voice.

"She is fine, she is fast asleep."

"Glad to hear that," he smiled sadly at him.

Reno nodded, "I noticed that you haven't visited since she arrived here, are you not planning to see her in person?" Reno asked while sitting down on the floor beside the warrior's chair.

The Founder King shook his head, "Not right now… maybe in the future, after I deserved her forgiveness," he gazed at his feet and gazed back at the other, "Let's us continue,"

Reno wanted to react but Carbuncle suddenly jumped on his lap and talked to him telepathically, "_**Just let him be...Reno, Somnus's mind is still in the past, don't force him," **_

Reno just nodded at his fellow guardian, "_**Sure… don't worry I will help him get through it," **_he glanced at the founder king, "Somnus…, " the former warrior turned to him, "Let me… I will show my memory this time," the founder king nodded then the sphere lit up again and showed Reno's memory.

**...**

_Reno was standing beside Astraea's bed while Aera and Rosa tended to her wound._

"_Is she okay?" Ardyn asked frantically._

_Aera nodded as the potion she used started to take effect, the wound started to heal. They all took a sigh of relief, "Her wounds are now healed so be at ease," Aera said while dressing Astraea up, Aera then put a bedsheet over her, she stood up giving Ardyn a place to sit down at the bed Rosa did the same for Somnus._

_Ardyn slowly brushed Astraea's forehead while Somnus grabbed her left hand and stroked it gently._

"_Thank the Astrals she okay…" Ardyn whispered._

"_It will take some time for her to wake up, My love," Aera put a hand on her fiance's tease shoulder, "But rest a sure she is now out of danger,"_

_Ardyn sighed and kissed her in the hand, "Thank Aera," then he looked behind Aera to find Reno just standing and watching them. "You!" he suddenly glared at him, "What did you not protect her!" he marched to him and grabbed his neck and yanked him up in the air, "Your her guardian why do you let her get wounded!" his eyes started to turn yellow._

"_Can't… breath…." Reno said between breaths as Ardyn's hands started to choke him._

"_Ardyn stop!" Somnus went and yanked him away from the guardian. Reno fell to his knees and was gasping for air. _

_The healer's anger suddenly faded and his eyes returned being blue, "Oh god… Reno I'm sorry I don't know what got to me," he went and helped him up._

"_Don't apologize, You're right it's my fault I should have followed her," Reno said as he stood straight and turned to his master, "Because of my carelessness she got hurt… I'm truly sorry,"_

"_Don't be Reno, she's okay now, her wound is now healed," Aera said while looking at him. _

_After composing themselves both brothers went towards the circular table and took a seat. Aera followed them and took a seat next to Ardyn. They were tired because after the attack they made Reno carry Astraea and take her home immediately because they ran out of potion. Reno could not take them all, so he and Astraea went back first in the palace while they went sprinting after them. They arrived five minutes after Reno. Rosa went outside to get some water while Gilgamesh stayed standing near the door. After resting for a few minutes Ardyn told Aera what happened._

"_Really? so Astraea's flames did not work… why?" she asked._

_Both brothers shook their heads, "We don't know… we all caught off guards because of that she got wounded," Ardyn said while clutching his trembling hand together._

_Aera covered it with her, "Don't blame yourself, Ardyn no one is to blame for this," she said while looking at the other sibling. Both brother just lowered their head down_

"_It's all my fault..." Reno whispered, they all turned to him for he did not leave his master side. He was still sitting at her bedside, clutching her right hand tightly, "I should have warned her not to use her ability so much… but she won't listen!" his voice started to crack, "Even though she knew it was affecting her... she still won't listen!"_

_His remark caught the attention of the siblings, "What do you mean? What is affecting her?" Ardyn stood up and walked towards him. Somnus followed behind._

_Reno glanced at them and opened his mouth to speak but his mark glowed red and started to hurt him. _

"_Reno are you okay?" Ardyn asked._

"_Yes I am…" he winced, "Sorry I can't tell you Astraea made me promise no she ordered me…" _

"_Forget about your promise! what is happening to her guardian, tell us!" Somnus shouted and went in front of his brother._

_Reno wanted to answer before he could speak, Carbuncle suddenly appeared before them._

"_Master Somnus, please don't force Reno, for Astraea word is absolute he can't disobey it, is the number rule being a guardian, don't disobey our master orders,"_

_Somnus' anger faded as he looked at Reno. The guardian just lowered his head and whispered, "Sorry Somnus," the founder king just nodded at him and took a step back while Ardyn took a step forward._

_Ardyn went and put a hand on Reno's shoulder, "It alright Reno, I just want to ask if she is going to be okay?"_

_Reno raised his head, "Yes she will be, but she needs to st-" his red mark glowed again making him stop his sentence._

"_Don't force it Reno, I will tell them…" Carbuncle said, turning towards the siblings, "Masters after I revealed it to you please let your anger take over…"_

_Both brothers glanced at each other then turned towards their guardian, "We promise… go ahead Cally tell us, what is happening to our sister," Ardyn said._

_The fox guardian just sighed and told them the truth. About Astraea's situation, she explained that the princess does not have a crystal where she can draw power from instead she draws power from her stamina by doing this her energy keeps fading fast when she uses her ability but she can recover from it by absorbing the fire energy from the elemental deposit near the haven which she and Reno do every day before they went hunting. But the flame of Purification is different. Every time she purifies anyone is caused a great deal draining her stamina and her life force all together just like Ardyn blessing it comes with a price. After hearing her explanation both brothers have a shocked expression on their faces._

"_Wait…" Ardyn took a step forward while looking at his sister, "You mean Astraea's life is fading. That is the reason why she is always so tired after each purification," his voice started to raise. _

_Cally nodded, "Yes, I apologize for not telling you earlier, she did ask me to hide it too."_

_Ardyn's face turned into an ugly frowned, "She has been purifying non-stop for the past four years! Now you are saying that she is dying!" he shouted at both of them. Both guardians just lowered their heads._

_Somnus wanted to shout as well but he decided to hold his anger and remained calm and collected, "Reno…" _

_Reno raised his head just to meet Somnus's glaring eyes, "Tell us... Is Astraea going to be alright…"_

"_Yes, she is… but she needs to stop purifying, her body can't take anymore. For every time she purifies someone is caused a day of her life,"_

"_How about me and Somnus, how many days does it cause to purify us?" Ardyn asked with a shaking voice._

"_A month.. for each of you," Cally answered._

_Both brothers' eyes widened as they calculated it. Ever since Astraea got the flames of purification she did non stop purification. Sometimes she will purify five to six people a day. While Ardyn And Somnus's purification will be at the end every of the week. They counted it and were horrified. Astraea has lost between 20 to 30 years of her life for the past four years. _

_Before they could react Astraea started to stir. She opened her eyes gently and sat up, Reno helped her. _

"_Addy… Sommy what wrong?" she asked softly. "Why are your faces like that you look ugly" she joked, "Did something happen?" Both brothers' faces fell flat, Astraea stirred in on her seat, as she felt an uneasy feeling. Before she could ask again Ardyn asked her in a stern voice._

"_What the hell are you thinking Astraea?"_

"_What?" she asked, "What are you talking about brother?"_

"_The flames of purification! You're dying because of it and still, you kept using it!" _

_Her eyes widened, "What…" she trailed off then she looked at her guardian, "YOU TOLD THEM!" Reno winced as he heard his master's angry voice, "I TOLD YOU NOT TO TELL THEM! HOW CAN YOU DISOBEY MY ORDER!"_

"_It's not him Astraea, it was me," Cally said while bowing her head._

_Astraea wanted to protest but Ardyn suddenly grabbed her by the forearm and yanked her up. "Your the one have the nerve to be angry, how could you lie to us Astraea!" he shouted at her as he tightened his grip. Astraea whimpered, Somnus went and pushed Ardyn away._

"_What are you doing brother! You're hurting her!" Ardyn glared at him, his eyes turning yellow, he saw it and materialized his sword and pointed at him._

"_WAIT, STOP!" Astraea stepped between the two. "Please don't fight… I'm okay… Somnus please lower your sword," he nodded, and with a flick of his wrist, his sword disappeared instead of fighting his brother he turned his attention towards her "Astraea, why did keep this from us?" Somnus asked softly. She just lowered her head, "Please tell us why!"_

_Her hands started to tremble and her hair was flickering nonstop._

"_Tell us now! Astraea that's an order!" Ardyn shouted at her again._

_Her eyes went glaring at him, "That is why!" she retorted, "I know you two will stop me… no, you will __**ORDER **__me! So I decided to hide it from you!"_

"_Why?" Ardyn took a step forward but Aera stopped him and turned to her._

"_My love, please let her speak…" his anger faded and he slowly turned to his sister again, "Why would you do that Astraea…" he said softly, "Why would you sacrifice your life?"_

"_Why?" she asked, "Because I need to do it, it's my calling! As a warrior of light and Ifrit's champion!"_

"_Are you insane! You're giving your life away!" Ardyn retorted._

"_Really!" she looked at him, "If I'm not mistaken you're the first one who offered your life in saving others, you accepted Bahamut's blessing in absorbing the starscourge in your body!" _

"_That's different my -"_

"_What is the difference! Just like me, you're giving your life too!"_

"_Because I have too! I promised, mother and father that I will take care of both of you. That is what I'm doing! as your older brother, I must protect all of you… you and Somnus! And its duty as well as Champion of the Astrals to purge the darkness away! "_

"_It's my duty as well!"_

"_But Astraea you should have told us," Somnus entered their conversation to break the heated argument, "You should ask us before doing that,"_

_She glared at him, "Why! You don't hold my life brother and I'm not a child anymore! Yes, both of you promise our parents that you protect me but it's my choice! It's my life and I will spend it as I please. If I need to sacrifice my life and I need to die to save Eos then be it! It's my calling is my duty as the FIRE MAIDEN YOU AND NO ONE WILL TAKE IT AWAY FROM ME!"_

_All of them were speechless, Reno is about to speak but Astraea continues, "Get out!"_

"_What?" they all asked._

"_I SAID GET OUT! I don't want to talk!"_

_Before Ardyn could speak he felt Aera hand on his shoulder, "Go..." she said, "Do what she said… it's not the right time to fight… all of you need rest so please go… I will take care of her,"_

_Ardyn's eyes softened as he looked at his sister. Astraea returned to her bed and covered herself in a bedsheet. He then looked at Somnus, they both nodded and started to walk out the room._

"_Astraea…" Reno whispered her name._

"_You need to go to Reno… I don't want to see you right now…" _

_Reno's face fell but he did have a choice. He stood up and bowed, "As you wish, master," with that he disappeared and his memory faded._

**…**

Before anyone could talk the sphere lit up again and showed Somnus' s memory.

_**...**_

_The next day both brothers were standing in front of Astraea's chambers there waiting for it to open._

"_Astraea… please open up, I'm sorry I yelled at you," Ardyn whispered._

"_We knew we went overboard last night but please understand we only did that because we were worried about you," Somnus said._

_They were only silent at the other side of the door, Both brothers looked at each with worried expressions. They were about to walk away when the door opened slightly. _

_Astraea was peeking through it. "What do you want?" she asked._

"_We just want to talk, can you please let us in?" Ardyn asked._

"_Fine…" she murmured as she opened the door._

_They went and seated themselves at the circular table. Before any of the brothers could speak Astraea went first._

"_I'm sorry…." she whispered as he lowered her head._

"_Why? We should be apologizing to you not the other way around," Ardyn said._

_She raised her head to them she saw they were looking at her, "For lying… for hiding it from you… I was afraid that you would stop me and that I will not be able to help you anymore. I like it before I will be useless… I don't want that…'' she murmured while shedding a few tears._

"_Oh… Astraea…" Ardyn cooed as he hugged her, "Don't ever think you that, you've been helping us, even before you became Ifrit's champion. You're the one who's holding us together," Ardyn broke and embraced and turned to Somnus._

_He nodded, "Our brother is right Astraea you are always here for us guiding and giving us hope. You are our light and without you will be lost," he leaned in and brushed the tears away._

"_Really?" she asked between sobs._

"_Yes… because you're our precious little sister, " he smiled at her warmly._

"_Yup our little star that kept on shining at night," Ardyn added._

"_Thank you… So are you going to stop me from using my ability?"_

"_No, even if we want to, we can't after you never like following orders," Somnus crossed his arms and leaned back, "Ardyn and I were been talking about it, your flames and the flame of purification has truly helped us so… we want you to continue it, after all, we need to defeat the darkness so that we can watch the sunrise together as we promise," he smiled._

"_Somnus is right we need to do this together, But don't overdo it Astraea," Ardyn patted her on the head, "Aera and Reno is doing there best to find a way to lessen the effect of the flames of Purification, for now just don't purify anyone for we don't want to lose our only star,"_

"_But what about our people? They need me, they need my flames?"_

"_The people will be alright, after all, the starscourge is now fading," Somnus gazed at her, "Our fighting we soon come to an end,"_

"_Do you think that Ardyn, Somnus?"_

"_We can, as long as we are together, nothing will stop us," Ardyn held his open palm towards his siblings. As long as there is __**Courage**_…" _he turned to Somnus._

_Somnus just glanced at his hand and looked back to see him smiling, he laughed and interlocked his hand to his brother, "And __**Hope**_…"

_Both brothers turned towards their sister and held their hands up to her. She gave them a very bright and warm smile and grabbed their hands, "And_ _**Love**_…"

"_Nothing will stop us… that is a promise…" Ardyn said, still holding both siblings' hands. Somnus and Astraea nodded. They all leaned in and touched each other's forehead and shared a minute of silence. After a few seconds, Astraea opened her mouth to talk._

"_So does this mean I'm grounded?" _

"No, you're safe...," Ardyn chuckled and leaned back, "But you need to take a rest, for a month, and don't worry we will be resting with you, we won't go hunting without you. I won't do any healing for a while,"

"Really? We can finally now play chess again! and this time I will definitely defeat the two of you!" she said while smiling.

The brothers chuckled as they saw her smiling again.

"Are you sure? we won't go easy on you," Ardyn grinned.

"Don't be so cocky Addy! I will defeat you!" she stood up and pointed a finger at him, "You too Sommy I'll make sure I will be triumphant,"

With the brothers burst out laughing, she followed them. A few minutes later Reno's head peeked through the opened door.

"Can I join?" he asked shyly.

"Reno!" she bellowed and she ran to him "Of course you can, we need to combine our power to defeat them,"

Reno gazed at her, "You're not mad at me anymore?"

She nodded, "Yes after all just did that because you care for me but don't ever disobey me again, it is the clear RENO!" he nodded, she smiled at him, "And besides I can't ever get mad at my little Chocobo," he sighed in relief and smiled at her.

Somnus took a deep breath, he was thankful that their family is back to normal again with that the memory faded.

**... **

"You three are really close, I wish I have siblings like your Somnus," Regis said while looking happily at him.

Somnus chuckled, "You would be surprised if I told you that we are not like when we were young," he gazed at them, "To be exact I hated both Ardyn and Astraea,"

They were surprised after hearing that, after all, all his memory always showed how he took care and how he loved his siblings, especially Astraea.

"You hated them but why?" Regis asked.

Somnus sighed, "You can't understand Regis, for you don't have a sibling," he turned towards the Auburnbrie's siblings, "Siblings rivalry will cause you to hate and to envy your siblings,"

Both Auburnbrie siblings turned to each other and smiled weakly. Yes, they are close to each other but just like Somnus said they experienced sibling rivalry but they were able to get through it and it helped them to be more close to each other so they understand what Somnus is talking about.

Somnus sighed and then gazed back at the king, "Back then in Solheim in during our teenage years. Ardyn and I will always fight for I am always jealous of him. Even if our father did not say that and won't admit it, I know he is his favorite. After all, Ardyn is his firstborn, the one who inherits the title _Crimson Phoenix_. I started to envy him, in their eyes he is always perfect and can't do anything wrong. Even if they gave us the twin swords, to represent we are the same," he summoned his sword and gazed at it, "I still feel the lesser sibling, I always hated the feeling so I kept training to be better than him but even with that I can't still beat him, he always two steps ahead of me, but our mother is always there to help and to cheer me up," he unsummoned his sword, "But that changed after Astraea was born, our mother's attention shifted towards her. I felt abandoned and betrayed,"

"You know the feeling is normal for siblings to be jealous at one another," Reno said.

"I know but back then I never thought of it, that is the reason why I almost got Astraea killed…"

"Wait... what?" Reno bellowed.

Somnus just smiled sadly, "If I remember Reno, you and Astraea met when she was ten years old, correct?" The guardian nodded, "Well back then when she was younger, Astraea was a very sickly child, she was born with a weak body, her lungs were weak(Asthma) which made both our parents take care of her always. That made Ardyn and I take care of ourselves at an early age. Because Ardyn was the eldest he always ordered me what to do and I hated that! Because of that we always fought each other, both physical and verbal." The sphere lit up again and slowly showed his memory.

**…**

"_Somnus(Age 13) where are you going you need to stay here and take care of Astraea," Ardyn(Age 16) stopped him. The younger brother turned around to see Ardyn with Astraea(Age 8) clinging to his side, "Where are you going anyway?"_

"_Hunting," he answered in annoyance. _

"_No, you're not," Ardyn ordered, "It's too dangerous and it's almost sunset. Mother and father will be returning soon, so please take care of Astraea for a while, so that I can prepare our dinner," Ardyn left Astraea in his care and left the room._

_He just scoffed and crossed his arm and took a seat near his younger sister. Astraea crimson eyes just stared at him, he noticed it and asked, "WHAT? Why are you looking at me like that,"_

"_Nothing…" she said shyly and lowered her head down._

_He just sighed and stood up and lowered his sheathed sword down, "Wait here I go get a drink," he said as he walked towards the kitchen. Ardyn saw him and asked._

"_What are you doing here? Astraea! where is she,"_

"_Relaxed... she is fine," Somnus said, putting water on the clay glass from a clay jar._

_Before his brother could react they heard a vase being shattered. They both ran to it to find Astraea holding Somnus's sword with a shattered clay vase around her. Ardyn saw the cuts on her feet he ran toward her._

"_Astraea are you alright?" He carried her and brought her back towards the kitchen he stopped beside Somnus, "See what you did Somnus, I told you not to leave her alone,"_

_Somnus snapped, "What is not my fault she grabbed my sword!" he glared at her. His sister shivered and buried her face in her older brother's chest, "She should have never touched it in the first place it was her fault, not mine!"_

"_She's just a child, Somnus!" Ardyn shouted back. "You should have known better…" Ardyn looked at him in disappointment and walked away._

_The founder king just tightened his fists in anger and went and grabbed his sword and walked out the door._

**…**

"See back then, I was lost in anger, hatred, and jealousy. I made some bad decisions and said some things which I regret even today."

**…**

_Somnus was stomping out of their small village and went towards the forest to let his anger out. He was slashing a tree non-stop while screaming his lungs out. Then he stopped when he heard someone behind him. He immediately pointed his swords towards the person to find only his sister. Astraea eyes widened as she backway._

"_Astraea! What are you doing here!" he said with an angry tone._

_She gulped and stepped forward, "I was worried about you Sommy," she said shyly as he tried to grab the sleeves of his robe. He yanked his arm away from her. Her crimson eyes started to water. _

**…**

"Back then I'm always jealous of Astraea's crimson eyes," Somnus said while staring at his memory. "I always wished that I had them, after all, there is a legend in Solheim that people that have crimson eyes are blessed by the Astrals and will do great things. I always said to myself that I should have those eyes, not her," he chuckled sadly, "I'm very selfish and stubborn back then. But even how much I screamed at her, my dear little sister never did back down and wanted to be close to me," he smiled sadly while still looking at his memory.

No one reacted at his remarks, They all stayed silent as the memory continued.

**...**

"_Sorry…" she stammered… "I make sure mother and father won't get mad at you… I will tell the truth… So please don't be angry anymore Sommy, I want us to be friends," she again went to grab his arm but Somnus lashed back. _

_His brown eyes glared at her. "WOULD YOU STOP THAT!" he shouted at her, "And stop looking at me with those eyes! I hated it… I HATED YOU! I WISH YOU WERE NEVER BEEN BORN!"_

_His sister just sniffed as her eyes started to water, "I'm sorryyyy." she stammered her words while still holding up the tears._

_He just scoffed at her and started to walk away, "Wait, Sommy!" he heard her but he kept walking away and went further inside the forest. They arrived at the riverside Astraea suddenly grabbed the back of his robe. He spun around and pushed her away. She almost fell towards the river but Ardyn was there and saved her._

"_What are you doing Somnus!" Ardyn shouted at him._

"_Let me alone!" he shouted back and walked away._

"_No you won't" Ardyn grabbed his forearm and yanked him back, "Tell Astraea you're sorry and you don't mean what you said early!"_

_Somnus just glared at him, "I meant what is said I hate you! I hate both of YOU!" _

_Astraea went between the two, "Please stop fighting," she grabbed both her brother's hands. _

_Somnus just glared at her and pushed her away which made her fall into the river and was swept away immediately._

"_ASTRAEA!" Ardyn shouted and jumped into the river to save her. While Somnus was left mortified for what he had done. The sphere continued to show his memory, this time it showed the aftermath of what he had done._

**…**

_Her mother was too busy tending to Astraea wounds. She had several cuts and bruises along her small body and he saw how her right hand and shoulder had been dislocated. _

_Somnus just stared at her in silence, afraid to say anything as his mind went racing trying to come up with a reason why he did that. He questioned himself how he could do that to her. Yes, he hated her but she did not deserve this._

"_WHAT HAPPENED!" Vincent shouted._

_He snapped at his train of thought and looked at his father who's standing in front of them. Ardyn was beside him._

_Before he could confess, Ardyn spoke first, "Astraea fell in the river,"_

"_Why is she on the near river in the first place, you two are supposed to take care of her!"_

_Somnus prepared himself for the scolding he knew Ardyn will tell them what he did, "We were hunting and because of my carelessness Astraea felt on the river," his eyes widened and gazed at his older brother. "I'm sorry father, it's my fault," Ardyn continued, "Punish me as their older brother I should've known better…" _

_Vincent's crimson eyes glared at them, "Is he saying the truth Somnus?"_

_The younger brother stood straight and looked up, "Yes… I mean…" he stammered his words. _

_Ardyn secretly grabbed his hand and whispered, "Just say yes… and don't say anything more," Somnus nodded._

"_Yes… father… but it is my fault I am the one who asked to go hunting so please punish me too," he bowed, he could see Ardyn's eyes widened in disbelief._

_Vicent just sighed and looked at his wife, Lucrecia just nodded at him, and then he glanced back at his sons._

"_Fine you too will not eat for half a day and I will take your sword away and no more hunting for the two of you. You're grounded for two months and will not leave this house. You too are responsible for taking care of your sister until her wounds heal. Am I cleared?"_

"_Yes Father," they both answered in unison. _

_The memory continued but it skipped. It was the crack of dawn the day. Somnus went towards their kitchen to get something to drink when he heard someone behind him._

"_Why did you do that?" he asked as he turned around to find Ardyn._

"_What do you mean?" Ardyn smiled._

"_You took the fall for me, why?" _

"_Let me asked answered that with a question, __Do you know why the big brother is born first?_ _Somnus shook his head, "__It's to protect the little brothers and sisters that come after him." __That is why... as your big brother it's my duty to protect you and take care of you._" _he walked towards the table and took a seat. Somnus followed him._

"_But...you saw what I did… you heard what I said to her? Why did you not tell them that…" _

_Ardyn just shook his head, "Because I know that feeling…"_

"_What?"_

_Ardyn just smiled at him and explained that he had the same feeling towards him when he was born. That he hated and envy him that he got all the attention. But in the end, he learned to love and accepted him. After all, Somnus is his dear younger brother. Brothers will need to work together to protect each other. With that Somnus's feeling for his brother changed his feeling of envy turned into admiration and hate into love. _

"_See we are much alike, that is the reason why mother and father give us twin swords. We should never compete with one another, okay? So if you need anything tell me I will help you, after all, I'm your big brother. We will train together so that we can protect her, Astraea, after all, we are our sister's keeper,"_

"_Sorry for all the done to you, but I promise to change my ways, I will be a better brother to you and Astraea,"_

"_That's my Little brother.…" he patted him on the head, "We should go before mother and father are awake, we need to hurry," Ardyn said while standing up._

"_What? Where are we goi-?"_

_Ardyn just put a hand over his mouth, "Shhh….We are going to find a red lotus for Astraea. It's her favorite and it will be a great gift to her to ask for her forgiveness…"_

_He nodded and followed his brother out the door. They went towards the nearest lake and found a red lotus and returned home undetected. The day Astraea woke up. They were surprised that Astraea did not tell their parents what really happened and protected them too. Both of their parents went out a bit and it gave them an opportunity to talk to each other. They gave her the lotus flower she accepted with second thought thank them. _

_Somnus was surprised by her action and asked, "Astraea, why did you tell them the truth? I said terrible things to you…"_

_She shook her head, "Because I know you don't mean it Sommy, so there nothing to forgive," she smiled at him. "What happened to me is just an accident… So I won't tell them… but can you please…" she trailed off._

"_Please what…." he asked as he sat beside her._

"_Can you please stop hating me? I love you, Sommy I don't want you to be angry. I will not bother you... I promise I will be a good sister," she started to cry._

_Somnus can't hold his tears anymore and cry and hugged her, "I'm sorry… sorry Astraea, I promise you I won't do that again… I will protect and love you…"_

"_Love you too Sommy…" she returned the hug._

_Ardyn just chuckled and went to embrace his younger siblings. They share bonding moments for a bit after they break their embrace._

"_How can I get even with you Astraea, tell me I will do it," Somnus asked while smiling at her._

"_Hmmm..." she pondered, "What about you both teach me how to use a sword," she smiled brightly at them._

"_What, you know, is forbidden Astraea and your hand is hurt…" Ardyn said while looking at her right arm which is all bandage up._

"_Well I can use my left hand anyway!" she said happily while waving her left hand. "And besides I know it is forbidden for us females to learn or even held a weapon. But you two can keep a secret just like I kept yours…" she grinned, "After all, you don't want mother and father to know the truth that we've been fighting and let me fall in the river right. Big brother Addy… Sommy…" her smile went wide._

_Both brothers were dumbfounded, Astraea their little sister is blackmailing them. They have no choice but to cooperate. They both chuckled, she followed them._

"_Alright then… little star…" Ardyn said, "We will teach you but not now... maybe in four years?"_

"_And it won't be easy, we won't go east on you, dear sister," Somnus added._

"_Okay that is a deal!" she just nodded happily then lunged forward again and hugged them. They hugged her back then the memory faded. _

_**...**_

"Starting that day our bond became stronger, that bond is the one who helped us through all the hardship which we experienced," Somnus smiled warmly. "The promise that Ardyn and I made that we always will protect our dear sister. I always loved the bond of ours." his smile faded, "But in the end, that promise is the one who broke us…" he paused, "And made me erase their existence from history…"

The room plunged into deep silence. All of them can't believe what they have heard, maybe they just misheard it. All of them glanced sideways waiting for anyone to ask the question. Somnus saw this and sighed.

"Yes you all of you heard it correctly." their eyes widened, "I Somnus Lucis Caelum... erase my siblings' existence from history and consequently changed the real history of my people and our beloved home Solheim…"

The sphere started to flick non-stop, "Now you will see how my brother Ardyn Lucis Caelum became the Adagium, and how my dear sister Astraea Lucis Izunia, took her last breath while giving her life to return the light to Eos.

* * *

**A/N:** I will make "Promise" (FF13 Serah's Theme) the theme for the siblings. Their _forgotten bond(promise). _It will keep appearing in the next chapters. I do really love Final Fantasy songs/themes and they have strong emotions. I'm planning to add a few Final fantasy and kingdom hearts themes in the future so stay tuned…..

I got the idea for this story from my favorite anime siblings. Taichi and Hikari Yagami and from the episode 'My Sister's Keeper'

THANK YOU! hope you enjoy this and have a wonderful day and keep safe!✩


	23. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21: Recalling of the Past: The Founder King and The Ring of Lucii**

_"The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes."-Kingdom Hearts_

* * *

Somnus leaned in and bowed his head and clutched his hands together remembering the last fun days they had before their lives changed, a smile appeared in his face. Reno saw this and could not decide if it was a genuine smile or a sad one. After all, Somnus is quite good at hiding his emotion. After living together all those years he only saw Somnus laugh heartily and let his guard down a couple of times. He still remembered the last time the siblings shared a heartfelt laugh together. The guardian was so busy looking at the founder King, that he did not notice that the sphere started to show his memory.

**…**

_Reno was seated at the stone railing of the gazebo while Carbuncle was sleeping on his shoulder. It was a high afternoon and the siblings were enjoying a quiet game of chess on the table which was at the center of the gazebo. It was Ardyn versus Astraea while Somnus was busy polishing his sword while leaning on one of the pillars. He gazed at the lotus flowers around them. The flowers kept swaying with the wind and It gave a serene feeling. Suddenly Astraea let out a sigh of defeat and he turned his gaze._

_Astarea leaned in and laid her head on her hands and looked at Ardyn, "I can't really win against you, Addy!" _

_Ardyn just chuckled, "You still need to practice more, Astra, maybe you should defeat Somnus before you can defeat me," he glanced at his brother. The founder king just shrugged his shoulder and unsummoned his sword and went towards them and took a seat next to them._

**…**

Somnus finally noticed it and looked up, "Is that?" he asked.

"Yes… sorry I will skip it," Reno is about to stop his memory but Somnus stopped him.

"No please… I want to see it,"

The guardian just nodded and his memory continued to play.

**…**

"_Our brother is right...Come, Astra, let us play," Somnus said while arranging the board for the new game._

_His sister smiled and arranged her side of the board. Ardyn leaned back and watched his siblings play. In the middle of the game. Aera and Rosa arrived with snacks and drinks with Gilgamesh behind them._

"_So who is winning?" Aera asked and went behind Ardyn and hugged him._

"_Me…" Astraea answered._

"_Are you sure? Somnus said while smiling, "Checkmate, I win again,"_

_The fire maiden let out another sighed and slammed her forehead on the table, "Not fair… maybe you can let me win," she looked up towards her siblings._

"_Not a chance," Somnus said while looking at his brother, "How about you... brother would you let her win?"_

_Ardyn chuckled, "Nope… she was to defeat us fair and square,"_

_She sat up straight "You two are truly horrible brothers, for not letting your little sister win," she pouted, "Please just let me win one time, Elder brother Addy… big brother Sommy," she looked at them with puppy dog eyes. _

_Everyone inside the gazebo laughed seeing the expression of the princess. After hearing their laughter she pouted and crossed her arm in annoyance._

_Rosa stopped laughing and cleared her throat, "May I ask a question, Astraea?"_

_She turned to her and nodded, "Sure, what is it,"_

"_Well…" Rose glanced at Ardyn, "Why is Lord Ardyn nickname __**Addy**__? That is a girl's name right?"_

_Ardyn almost spat his drink after hearing the question but he was able to compose himself._

_Seeing this Somnus snorted, "That's a very good question, Lady Rosa," he said while grinning, "Do tell her… Astra why you call our dear elder brother... __**ADDY**_…"

_Their elder brother just frowned his eyebrows at them, Astraea saw this and she laughed, "Well back then in Solheim when I was little maybe 3 or 4 I thought Ardyn was a girl,"_

"_Really? Lord Ardyn?" Reno bellowed as he walked towards them. Carbuncle is now awake and her tail is swaying back and front._

"_Do tell us, Astraea," Carbuncle requested._

_She turned to her, "Yes, Ardyn...no… __**Addy **__here inherited our mother beautiful long brown hair and he even has longer hair than me back then," she turned to her brother to find Ardyn was glaring at her, she just chuckled and continued, "He does really look like a girl back then, and I have a problem pronouncing R back then so instead of Ardyn I ended up calling him Addy... Even as I got older the name stuck. My big brother Addy," she giggled._

"_Really that's the reason why... it's cute should we start calling you Lord Addy now or Lady Addy?" Reno said while smirking._

"_What no!" he bellowed, "Don't ever do that, in fact, I forbade all of you to call me Addy! That goes for you Astraea no more Addy!"_

_All of them were surprised by his sudden reaction. Both of his siblings can't help but laugh out loud, soon, Aera, Carbuncle, Reno, and Rosa even Gilgamesh followed._

_The healer's cheeks started to blush. Aera saw this and she laughed, "Ardyn… or Addy… you still handsome my love," she leaned in and kissed him on the cheeks._

_Ardyn smiled at her and kissed her on the forehead, "Thank you, Aera,"_

"_Aww…" How sweet," Astraea said._

_Ardyn turned to her with a serious face, "I mean it Astraea no more Addy, alright?"_

_She sat up straight, "Fine… no more Addy… I promise," she said while crossing an x in the heart._

"_You two Somnus no more Addy,"_

_Somnus just smiled, "As you wish Lady Addy,"_

_Ardyn sighed in defeat, with that, all of them burst out laughing again a minute later they stopped. "You want to play a game, Somnus?" he asked._

"_Sure,"_

_As the brother started to arrange the board, Astraea stood up, "Wait here... I going to get something," _

"_Do need me to accompany you Astraea," Reno asked._

"_No… just stayed here," she replied and walked away._

"_So… big brother…" Somnus gazed at his brother, Aera is still at his side._

"_Yes,"_

"_When will you and Aera, going to get married?"_

_Ardyn raised his gaze at him and turned to his fiance, "Maybe after we defeated the starscourge, right my love," he grabbed her right hand and kissed the top of it._

_Aera just giggled, "I will wait for that fateful day, my Love," they both smiled at each other._

"_Why not now?" Astraea called out while walking back to them._

_Ardyn turned to him, "Now, is not the right time, Astraea. After we are free of this darkness then that when we will get married," _

"_Okay if you say so…" she smiled at them._

_Carbuncle noticed the giant scroll at her hand, "What is that?" as she jumped down towards the table. Both brothers stopped playing and looked at her._

"_Oh, this… Well, the kingdom of Lucis does not have a crest yet so I created one," she unraveled the scroll, "What do you think?" she asked while showing them her black and gold artwork. (Kingdom of Lucis Crest)_

"_What is that?" Somnus asked while studying the drawing._

"_Looks like a flower?" Aera said._

"_Yup, it's a lotus flower from above. After all, you said we can't use the Izunia or Kingdom of Solheim's chest for the kingdom of Lucis. So I decided to create this … So even if Solheim is now gone, we still have a part of it. Our tribe's flower… the lotus… so what do you think?" she asked._

_Both brothers gazed at each other and gazed back at their sister and gave her a warm smile, "It's perfect… Astraea…" they both said in unison._

"_Really?" _

_They both nodded, "Our people will be happy to know that our kingdom has Crest now…" Ardyn said and went to grab the scroll, "Gilgamesh, tell our tailors to create flags with this symbol,"_

_Gilgamesh nodded and grabbed the scroll, "Right away, Lord Ardyn," then blademaster bowed and left._

"_So Astraea do you have any vision of the future who will be king?" Reno asked._

_Astraea just frowned at her guardian, "No… I liked it to be that way… after all, whichever the Crystal of Bahamut's choice. Either it is Ardyn and Somnus. I know this Kingdom will prosper under him," she smiled at her brothers._

"_Astraea is right," Ardyn said, "Either I or Somnus will be chosen, nothing will change between us, we will still be together," Somnus and Astraea nodded, "For now we still need to save Eos and continued to fight this darkness," he looked up to see the dark clouds. "But rest assured we will win and we will see the sun and stars again," the healer announced and they all nodded. _

"_Speaking of fighting, our two-months rest is now over soo…" Astraea started to walk backward, "I can finally go back hunting!" she shouted and started to run away._

"_Wait NO! Wait for us!" Ardyn and Somnus shouted and chased her, Aera and Rosa followed soon. Reno just sighed and looked down at Carbuncle._

"_Let's go, Cally," Carbuncle nodded and jumped up to his shoulder. He started walking with that his memory faded._

**…**

Somnus laughed sadly, "That is last we were happy as a family," he took a deep breath, "Before the darkness inside my heart came out envy took over and destroyed our family forever…"

Regis saw how serious the founder king was, so he thought hard about what question to ask him. Then he remembered Astarea's ability to see the future and after seeing their memory. He decided to ask.

"So Astraea has the ability to see the future even back then?"

Carbuncle saw that either her former Master and Reno would not answer so she decided to answer it.

"Yes, the princess had the ability to see the future…" she walked towards the king and sat in front of him, "It was a gift from the Goddess of Death…"

"Etro?" Cor asked.

She nodded, "Yes, Marshal, the Eyes of Etro… it gave the princess the ability to see the future. Because she was full control of the chaos inside of her,"

"Chaos? So Astraea can't be corrupted. Why is that?" Aerith asked.

Carbuncle turned to her, "The God of Fire make sure that Astraea is safe, as long the fire inside on her never dies...no darkness or whisper could corrupt her or take over,"

"That is a relief, So if Astraea can see the future why did you not use it to save your family?" Aerith asked again.

"Because just like the blue flames it is a curse," Somnus entered the conversation, "Every time she had a vision her life-force fades with it and not only that there is a limit of her ability. She said to us that Etro talked to her in a dream, that she can't change the future, for the future is absolute. But it did not stop her doing so,"

"Wait, she keeps having those visions, will she be okay?" Regis asked in a worried tone.

"Yeah… I am trying to know the reason for that…" Reno stretched the back of his head, "Back then… Astraea had only one of two visions of the future every year but now she was multiple visions. But the looks of it is not affecting her at all, maybe Etro changed it so that she can fulfill her duty,"

"We cannot assume that... Reno," Somnus turned towards him, "Go find more about it," The guardian nodded.

"Does she have control over it?" Clarus gazed at them.

"No, she does not… it comes and goes, let us just be grateful that her vision is not affecting her and helping Lucis win the war," Somnus answered, "So please do not take advantage of it and be careful of using it. For she said the changing the future will affect the future in the long run, either the outcome will be good or bad."

"You have our world, Founder king," Regis nodded, "We will take care of her…"

Somnus nodded back, "Thank you," another long silence ensued again. Somnus saw their expression, their eyes were waiting eagerly. So He took a deep breath, "So you all might be wondering what happened? Why did we end up like this…" they all nodded, "Well then let me tell you…"

Somnus leaned back on his chair and sat up straight and gazed at the sphere, "After our two-months rest, we went back to our old routine, but we were surprised to find that the _Miasma_ and _Starcourge_ are not as powerful as before and the daemons at appearing each night were reduced."

"So you're winning?" Dave asked.

"We thought so too," Reno frowned, " But Diabolos was just playing with us, making us feel safe and left our guard down. So he can act his revenge,"

"His revenge?" they all whispered.

"Yes, his revenge towards the champion of Astrals, he knew that he cannot defeat _the warriors of light_ together so he started a plan to attack the source of the _LIGHT _back then,"

Which is?" Regis gazed at him.

"Astraea... my sister and her flames kept Diabolos power in a bay so that he targeted her and used us to his evil plans."

They all took a deep breath to ready themselves.

"After months of the sky started to clear up, the people started to feel safe and started to look toward the future. That time Aera could not talk to Bahamut still but we know that the time of choosing is near. Ardyn and I are now in our last trial which will determine who will be the first king of Lucis. Back then my brother continued to heal the people but not as many as we are still worried about our sister," the sphere started to glow and his memory started to play.

**…**

_They were at the end of the desert plain(Prairie Outpost). Ardyn was inside a wooden open barn with five people suffering from the scourge. Aera was beside him while Astraea was playing with the children in the haven. He and Gilgamesh stood not far from Ardyn so that they could hear the conversation inside._

"_Thank you Lord Ardyn…" a man bowed at the healer after Ardyn finished healing him, "I pray that you will be the choosing king, for your healing hand and kind heart you will guide us in the future,"_

_Ardyn just smiled, "Thank you, kind Sir… but it is not up to me… it's up to the crystal who will be king," _

_The man shook his head, "But we want you Lord Ardyn… you want you to be king!" the man said and the people around them agree with the man. They started praising him and calling him King while bowing._

"_Please don't do that…" Ardyn stood up and held his right hand pleading them to stop. But they did not, they even kneel down on the ground and kept calling him king._

"_Praise king Ardyn!" they kept shouting _

_Somnus' eyes frowned at the sight of it, then Astraea and walked beside them._

"_What is happening?" she asked._

"_The people wanted Lord Ardyn to be king, so they started doing that," Gilgamesh explained._

"_Really? can't help it, our brother has always been there for them, but they have to know that Somnus can be king too, Right brother?" she turned to him. Somnus just nodded in silence._

"_Yeah, we cannot blame them, after all, Lord Somnus tried to kill them," Reno said without thinking._

_With that Somnus face fall, Astraea saw this and elbowed Reno in the stomach. "I told you never to bring that up Reno!"_

"_Sorry I forgot… Please forgive me, Lord Somnus," he bowed._

_He just shrugged his shoulders, "Your forgiven Reno…" he said in a stern voice and started to walk away with that his memory faded._

**…**

Somnus sighed, "After that day I keep hearing from our people that they wanted Ardyn to be king. I keep saying to myself that it does not bother me who is picked as King as long as we save Eos…" he paused and took a deep breath, "But I was wrong I'm just pretending not to be affected by deep inside me, my envy of Ardyn started to rise again."

**…**

_They were riding their Chocobos. The siblings were accompanied by a few soldiers and captain Gilgamesh. When they arrived at the entrance of the town of Alexandria(Old Lestallum). The soldier stayed behind as the four went inside. Somnus, Astraea, Gilgamesh were behind Ardyn still riding their Chocobos. Ardyn reached the center of the town first. They were surprised to be met by the town people waiting for them._

"_It's him!" shouted one of the townspeople._

"_Lord ARDYN!" _

"_The healer of the people!"_

"_Welcome Lord ARDYN!"_

"_Praise the Astral"_

"_Please heal us oh Great Healer…"_

_Somnus and Astraea could hear of the praise from the townspeople as they threw flower petals from above their home. They stayed a few yards from their brother. _

"_WOW… Ardyn is really popular," Reno said._

_The people started to gather around the healer, touching his robe and holding his hands._

"_The news must have arrived here, that my brother was able to heal and get rid of the Starscourge of the neighboring lands," Astraea said while patting Reno on the head._

_Somnus' eyes focused on his brother, Ardyn had already disembarked his Chocobo and started healing people. Suddenly he heard a voice__**, 'He will be chosen, King!' **__He looked around to see where the voice was coming from, '__**Your nothing compared to him!' **_his eyes clenched shut as his head started to ache.

"_Brother...? Somnus…?" He could hear Astraea voice calling to him, he opened his eyes to see that Astraea was now holding his hand, "Are you okay?"_

_He looked at her for a long time, the voices inside his head kept on whispering. He knows that is the whispers inside of him. But he decided not to say anything about it so he gave her a fake smile, "I'm okay, I'm just tired, don't worry."_

_Before Astraea could say a word some of the town people saw them._

"_It's the princess!"_

"_Lady Astraea!"_

"_Your highness!"_

_The people started to give her the attention just like Ardyn. Some of them gave her flowers. Somnus was forced to back away as the people started to gather around his sister._

_His head kept throbbing as the whispers kept on whispering. _

'_**You're not worthy of the throne!'**_

'_**You can't defeat him…'**_

_Then all of a sudden it disappeared and he was able to compose himself. That when he heard some of the townspeople mention his name._

"_Its that Somnus Lucis Caelum?_

"_Yea, I heard he burned down an entire village,"_

"_He is very different from his siblings right?"_

"_Yeah...even though he is a warrior of light, I don't want him to be king… I'm scared of what he might do to us…"_

_Somnus felt saddened after hearing those words, so he decided to get out of town and wait for siblings to finish. _

"_Let's go, Gilgamesh let us patrol the surrounding," he said as he kicked the side of his Chocobo to head back at the entrance._

"_Are you not going to help them?" the captain asked._

_Somnus stopped and looked back at his siblings. Ardyn was now sitting at the fountain which is located at the center. He started to heal people while Astraea is bust giving her potions. Both siblings were laughing and having a fun time._

_He noticed the men of the town were glaring at him. He can feel their anger towards him. He just shrugged his shoulders, "No…they don't need my help anyway," he continued to go back to the entrance. He saw that Gilgamesh was about to speak but he intercepted it, "I'm okay…. Gilgamesh," he turned to him. He saw the worried face of the captain, he gave him a warm smile, "Let's go… we have hunts to undergo," he did not wait for the captain to respond and he continued to go to the entrance. His memory faded._

**…**

"Back then I kept questioning myself, what do I suppose to do? Ardyn and Astraea have tasks given to them by the Astrals," The Mystic leaned back, put his both hands on the armchair, "Unlike them...Bahamut never gave me a special ability. So I just stayed put and watched as my siblings did their jobs." he paused and looked at his hand then he chuckled sadly, "Now I known what Astraea felt before she got her power, The feeling of helpless and powerless,"

"They never saw you like that you know, you're a great help to them. You're the one who kept them in line, Remember when they got caught in an Arachne web because they did not listen to you and we have to help them before they get eaten." Reno said as he stood up and patted him on the back.

"Yeah… I remember…" he smiled, "My brother always got us into trouble because of his recklessness. Even his our elder brother he never acted like one, he more childish than Astraea,"

Reno chuckled, "Right… the three of you are always there for each other. You three are the representation of _Courage_… _Hope_...and _Love_…,"

"Hope?" Somnus face turned into a frowned, "But I the one who destroyed their hope to have a future,"

Reno withdrew his hand and stepped back, "No… Diabolos did that do ever think you're the reason why your family broke apart,"

He turned towards the guardian, "Have you forgotten what I did Reno?"

Reno did not reply and gazed around to see the King and his people were looking at them in silence.

"My dear sister was right, _The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes_ and I learned it the hard way…" before Reno could speak the sphere started to glow again.

**…**

"_So how is your journey, my love?" Aera asked while pouring a glass of wine for the healer._

"_Exhausting…" Ardyn said as he took a sip._

_They were back at the palace enjoying a relaxing break in the gazebo._

"_Hey Somnus, where did you go? We were looking for you?" Ardyn asked._

_Somnus who was in front of him. He raised his head, "You are? you seem to be occupied, you can't stop smiling as the people could not stop praising you," he said with a stern voice and a frown in his face._

"_Ohhh… what is this?" Ardyn raised an eyebrow, "Is my little brother jealous?" he said jokingly._

"_No! I'm not! I just worried that you're exerting yourself again. The more you heal, the more whispers you absorb in your body. I just worried about Astraea. She needs to use her purification again."_

"_So you worried about us?" Ardyn asked._

"_No… just Astraea…"_

_Ardyn clutched his heart jokingly, "Ouch that hurt you do not care if something happened to me?"_

"_Yeah… after all, we are in the race of the throne… if something happened to you then I would be king," he said in a serious tone._

_Ardyn's smile faded, "You don't mean that right Somnus?"_

'_**No I mean it!' **__he thought, '__**I want you gone!' **_he could hear the whispers inside his head, for that he can't stop thinking his _negative thoughts about his brother, _'_**Astraea and I are better without you…' **_

"_Sommy?" he felt someone touch his left hand and he turned towards his sister, "Are you okay?" _

"_Yes… sorry, I'm okay," he laughed, "Sorry about that… I just joking… sorry if I hurt your feeling, brother,"_

_The older brother just smiled, "It's okay, you are just exhausted as we are,"_

_Somnus just nodded and continued eating at peace. This video stopped and went to black._

**…**

"As you see Ardyn is not the only one harboring _whispers. _Instead of seeking help from Astraea, I kept it secret. I thought I could fight them alone. But I was wrong…"

"Why did you not let Astraea purify you?"

The founder king turned towards the shield, "Because at that time, Astraea is at her limit and can't use the flames of Purification without being heavily affected by it,"

**…**

_Astraea has just finished purifying Ardyn. Fifteen whispers came out from the healer body. The mystic took care of them easily. Suddenly Astraea went down coughing blood._

"_Astraea!" both brothers shouted as they kneeled down beside her._

"_I'm okay…" she tried to smile at them, "This is nothing… Please don't worry about me, it's your turned Somnus I know you have whispers inside of you too,"_

"_No, I'm okay, you don't have to purify me," Somnus replied in a worried tone._

_She shook her head, "No… I need to, the whisper migh-" she started coughing again the second later she lost consciousness._

"_ASTRAEA!"_

**…**

"As you see Astraea can't take it anymore and she could die anytime if she continued to purify. So we decided to make her stopped it all together until we found a way to stopped the effect,"

"Did she?" Regis asked.

"Yes," Reno answered, "But it took us a lot of convincing, but she did follow us she stopped purifying and focus in creating new potions,"

"After a month of fighting again we forgot about Bahamut's trial for we are too focused on eliminating the scourge. But it changed in the middle that year the Oracle brought good news. Bahamut finally appeared and talked to her.

**…**

_They were at the annual meeting at the assembly hall. Together with them are the brand new members of the council of Lucis but Astraea was missing. They were waiting for the good news from the Oracle._

"_Are you sure Lady Aera? Bahamut will choose his king and help us in eliminating the scourge all together?" Ardyn asked._

"_Yes, the Great Draconian told me that the Crystal will choice his king, with the king's power he can destroy the scourge for good,"_

_The people started to murmur at each other._

'_Finally, our fighting will come to an end…' Somnus thought, 'We can finally rest well,'_

"_Is Lord Ardyn the chosen King?" one of the council asked__._

"_No…it's still undecided," Aera answered._

"_Why not Lord Ardyn would be a great king! He can unite us all," praised by one of the council_.

_Somnus snapped out his train of thought after hearing that he then looked at his brother who was beside him. Ardyn just smiled at him and then looked at the council, "Don't say anything like that Lord Barron, I'm no king yet, Somnus here has a chance to be king as I do, so please whatever the result give the future king your support," he said while smiling._

'_**He is lying' **__the whisper inside Somnus's head, started again, _'_**He does care about you, he will take the throne. Beat him to it, prove to yourself you're better than him! The throne should be yours and yours alone!' **_he shook his head in discomfort, Ardyn noticed it and put a hand on his shoulder.

"_Are you okay Somnus?"_

_Before he could reply and the door opened and Astraea and Reno entered. Both look exhausted._

"_Oh… good you all here…" Astraea said as she continued to walk towards the table, "I have great news from the Draconian,"_

_The Mystic was able to regain his composure and asked, "Bahamut..? he talked to you again?" _

"_Well…not exactly… he ordered me to do something… no to create something" Astraea slumped down on her chair. "It took me three days to create that, I have not had a night of sleep because of that…"_

_Before anyone could speak, Reno went towards the siblings and put a small wooden velvet box between them. Then Reno went to return to his master's side._

"_What do you mean, create?" Ardyn said while glancing down at the box._

"_Just opened it to find out…it is important, it will help the future King of Lucis," _

_Both brothers just looked at each other, then at the box before them, Ardyn was the one to open it. The box contained a black and gold metal ring, an image of Bahamut's is engraved around it at the center was bluish crystal._

"_A ring?" Somnus asked as he leaned in to get a better look._

"_Not just a ring, the __**Ring of the Lucii**__!" Astraea stood up and started to walk towards them, "It will help the future king to harness all the power of Bahamut's crystal. With that ring, the chosen king will be able to vanish the darkness and Diabolos once and for all,"_

"_What!" Both brothers bellowed and looked at her._

"_Yup," she smiled at them, "It is made of Mythril and it is forged with Infernian's flames, and the middle piece is a shard from Crystal of Light…It's kinda cool right?" both brothers nodded, she laughed and continued "After I finished creating that Bahamut gave his light and blessing and went away again. He did not even say thank you… " she pouted and crossed her arms, but moments later her face started to brighten up, she smiled at them. "But happy that he gave me the opportunity to create that __**ring **__and I that can help the future king of Lucis," Astraea stepped closer towards them, "Our fight will soon come to an end and will see the light again," she held both her brother hands, "You have my undying support, Lord Ardyn… Lord Somnus… as the champion of Ifrit, I will be there for the two of you, whoever is chosen. I will be there," she smiled._

_Ardyn put the box down and turned towards her, "Thank you Astraea… I mean Fire Maiden," Ardyn said and patted her on the head._

"_You have our support too, Princess, just tell us what to do and will be there for you," Somnus said and put a hand on her shoulder._

_She just nodded, "Thank you… Addy... Sommy…."_

_Both brothers just nodded back, Ardyn then picked up the ring again and studied it. "So it took you three days to create this little thing?" he asked._

"_YES!" Three whole days! So take care of it! Don't let it fall into the wrong hands!" she gazed at the ring, "Wait… second thought… give me that…" she grabbed the ring before Ardyn could react. She wore it and suddenly the ring started to glow. Before anyone could say a word, she recited a chant._

"_I call upon the flames of the infernian grant me the power to bless this ring. The wearer should be of the royal blood and have to prove himself or herself worthy to wear the Ring of Lucii. If the heart of the bearer is filled with darkness and seeks only to destroy life..." she stopped her crimson eyes glowed bright red and focused on the ring on her finger, "__**BURN**_ _them with the internal flames!" her fingers burst into blue and red flames then the flames went into the ring. It glowed bright red and died down, she smiled and removed the ring and put the ring on the box, "Here is safe now… nobody will be able to use it for harm," she yawned and stretched her arms, "Is the meeting done? Can I skip it?" she did not wait for an answer, "For I'm very tired… going to sleep for a while… bye …" she bowed towards the council and happily waved her hands and started to walk away._

_All the people inside the chamber were speechless. They did not even stop the Fire Maiden and her guardian in leaving the room. The council looked at the brothers and looked at the ring._

"_So…." Ardyn trailed off, "Somnus, wait to try it?" he asked, turning towards him._

_The younger brother just shook his head, "Nope… not chance…. I will wait if I am chosen King, in fact, if Bahamut chooses me, I will not wear that… Astraea curse scares me,"_

_Ardyn_ _chuckled jokingly, "Second to that…We need to make sure will are worthy to wear it,"_

_Somnus nodded and slowly closed the lid of the box with, that his memory faded._

**…**

_When the sphere turned off Regis raised his hand and gazed at the ring on his finger. _

"_Can you feel it?" Regis turned towards the founder king, "Is Astraea flame still inside of it?"_

_Regis's eyes glanced back at the ring, he took a deep breather and concrete, then suddenly into blue and red flames brust from it, engulfing the king's hand._

"_Your Majesty!" Clarus shouted as he stood up._

"_Be at ease Clarus in not burning me…"_

_They all looked at the flames in astonishment, their eyes wide and their mouths agape. The flames started to take shape, both flames turned into the shape of a phoenix and flew around at room leaving trails embers in the air._

"_Woah…." Dave said as his gaze followed the two fire phoenixes around the room._

"_They are beautiful," Aerith held a hand up, the red fire phoenix perched on her fingers, while the blue hand went towards Somnus and Reno. It hovered in front of them._

"_This is nothing… Astraea could summon a fire phoenix as big as Reno's true size," Somnus turned towards the guardian._

"_Yeah… but they are not as awesome as me..." Reno _snickered as his hair glowed bright red.

"Are you jealous…" Carbuncle jested and jumped towards the guardian's shoulder.

"What! Me? jealous!" he bellowed and glared at the fox guardian, "I'm more marvelous than them, I'm real and these two are not…" he crossed his arms.

Carbuncle giggled, "I'm joking Reno, I know they are nothing compared to you," she said while trying to swipe the blue phoenix circling them, "I can't wait to see your true form again,"

"Well, it has to wait… I don't want to drain Astraea energy,"

"Wait!? what do you mean?" the red phoenix is now at Regis's side, he is petting while he gazed at the guardian.

"Astraea and I share the same power, we are connected so If I use my ability she will be affected too, it's been like that ever since, after all, we don't have Ifrit's crystal supporting us," he said while shooing the blue phoenix as it hovered near his face.

Regis just nodded and then his gaze landed on the founder King. Somnus's face is a mix of happiness and sadness.

Somnus slowly raised his right hand up and about to touch the blue fire phoenix that was hovering in front of him. But before he could reach it both fire phoenixes suddenly burst in flames and disappeared leaving nothing but embers floating in the air. Somnus's face fell as his eyes followed the embers as it disappeared before it reached the floor.

"You're okay there? Sommy?" Reno called out.

The former warrior snapped out from his state and turned to him, "Yes…" he trailed off, while looking at his right hand, "I'm okay… I just miss her,"

"So why not go to her now, she is waiting for you,"

"I cannot… after all I was the one of took her life," Somnus slowly turned around and took a seat, "I can't face her… not now…"

Reno just sighed, "She will forgive you, Somnus. Astraea will never hold a grudge after all this is all Diabolos's fault. The whispers made you do it so don't blame yourself,"

"I knew the whispers were responsible...but I let them take over me, my envy towards my brother…" he held his hands together and it started to tremble, "Towards Ardyn… it powered them and made me do those bad things. I can't atone for my sins, I can't see her… so please take care of her," Somnus said softly as his spirit started to fade.

"NO! You don't!" Carbuncle jumped to him, stopping him from fading, "You're not going anywhere _SOMNUS LUCIS CAELUM!"_ her ears and tail raised up and she glared at him, "You're going to stay here and finish what you started. If you really want to be forgiven, show them first what you have done and don't avoid it any longer!" Carbuncle then turned towards the King and his people, "After that, they can decide if you can be forgiven or not" she turned to him again, "I'm I, clear _FOUNDER KING!_" Somnus' eyes went wide as he gazed at his former guardian's eyes, "Are we clear! Founder King?" she asked again.

Somnus blinked several times, then burst out laughing. Reno and Carbuncle were caught off guard. After all, for the past two thousand years, Somnus never laughed like that, yes he did smile a little but not like this. His joyous laughter is like the one he had back then. When the siblings were still happy together. He laughed for almost a minute.

The people around him just gazed in silence. Then he composed himself and looked warmly at his guardian.

"You sound and act like her Cally…" he patted her in the head.

"But of course, after all, Astraea's energy is quite contagious," she smiled.

Somnus smiled at her, "Thank you, Cally… thank you for everything," he turned to Reno, "Let's finish this Reno… for I want to go to her," the guardian just nodded and smiled at him, he returned the smile and turned his head towards the King and his people.

"Sorry Regis, I kept stalling, I'm just scared that all of you will lose your faith and respect for me, that you will never see me as _The Mystic or The Founder King _anymore if you saw what I did…"

"We will never do that Somnus," Regis stood up and walked towards the founder king, "You have our undying support. We are here for you, we are family after all," he patted him on the shoulder_,"_

"Thank you," Somnus bowed at the King, Regis bowed back and returned to his seat.

"So shall we start again?" Somnus asked. All of them nodded.

"Well then… I will now show you what truly happened, How I became the Founder King, how Ardyn lost his fight and fell into darkness and became the Accursed and how our dear sister lost her life while saving and returning the light in Eos."

* * *

**A/N: **I know that Somnus was his own theme in the game but for this fanfic, I will give him a new theme. Its form Kingdom Hearts _Riku's theme_(Kingdom Hearts - "Riku's Theme" | ORIGINAL LYRICS | Lizz Robinet) for it really describes him as he fights his inner daemon. So the next character will divert from Final Fantasy XV: Episode Ardyn - Prologue canon. But it will show how the brothers acted like that in the anime. I will just change a few scenes.

I just watched Kingsglaive again and noticed when Ravus wore the Ring of Lucii, it rejected him and his arm burst into blue and red flames and burned him the same goes for Ignis. So I decided to create a backstory explaining the curse of the ring.

THANK YOU! hope you enjoy this and have a wonderful day and keep safe!✩


	24. Chapter 22

**Recalling of the Past: Broken  
**_"To much hope is the opposite of despair, an overpowering love may consume you in the end"-Vincent Valentine (Final Fantasy VII)  
_

* * *

The king's chamber was filled with silence once more. Reno and Carbuncle went to their masters to check if they were doing fine and not being affected by what is happening. While people inside the room stood up to stretch their sore muscles from sitting for a long time. Regis gazed at the clock, it's already 2 in the morning. He started to feel sleepy but he needs to finish this. He needs to know what really happened. After five minutes the guardians returned and the King's people went back to their seats after making sure everyone was ready. The Mystics took a deep breath and sat up straight on his chair and continued his story.

"After hearing the great news from the oracle and knowing that is just a matter of time before can finally defeat Diabolos and his minions, my siblings and I started to relax for a bit, knowing we are winning, but we were wrong, Diabolos was just waiting for the right time to strike,"

The sphere started to glow again and showed his memory.

**…**

_He was busy reading the scroll in front of him, studying, and looking at the new laws that need to be approved. He was inside his chamber on his desk. When someone knocked on the door._

"_Come in,"_

"_Good Morning!" Astraea greeted him with a smile as she walked towards his desk._

"_Morning," his eyes gazed at her, "What...?" he stopped as he studied her appearance and chuckled, "What are you wearing?"(Red mage outfit by Raemz-Desu)_

"_Ohh.. this?" she twirled around, "I made this, does it look good?" _

_He looked at her from head to toe, he noticed the white feather on the cavalier hat, he laughed, "It's good but do you need the hat?"_

_Astraea pouted, "Yes… It completes the look, why does it look silly?" she asked while playing with the feather._

_He shook his head, "No… it's great Astraea it's perfect, so where are you going?"_

"_Hunting! Want to come?" she said gleefully._

_He sighed, "Again? Did we go yesterday? _

"_Yes, but we never did catch the Ghastly Griffon,(FFXV Comrade). A messenger came and said it's attacking the nearby town. They requested us to kill it. So are you going?"_

_He gazed at her pleading eyes and gazed down at the scrolls on the table, "Sorry Astra, but I can't I got work to do,"_

"_Really Somnus, the Mystic is turning down a hunting job?" Ardyn went in and walked towards his desk, "Why? I thought you like hunting?"_

_He sighed loudly, "Yes… for I got work to do," he walked towards the bookshelf beside his desk and took a book and went back and slammed the book on the desk, "For I need to be responsible one because... someone is trying to escape his responsibility and keeps on forgetting that he has people to serve," he gave Ardyn an annoyed look._

_The older brother chuckled, "Oh come on Sommy… You knew I was not good at the stuff, So can you please take care of that for me little brother," he smiled._

"_Yeah, I notice…" he took a seat and looked up to see Ardyn pleading to him with his blue eyes. He ruffled his hair and sighed, "Okay fine, I will take care of it. But I can't really go with you, so promise me you two will stay out for trouble,"_

"_Really? Why not drop everything and come hunting with us," Ardyn took the scroll in from him._

"_I can do that… if you will replace me and do this yourself… how about it, big brother?" he grinned._

_Ardyn gulped and took a step back, "Sorry I will pass," he smiled at him, the Founder King just shook his head and started to read the scroll again, "So you are really not coming?"_

"_Nope for I have to be the responsible one," he replied and looked up, "It's fine just go and have fun," _

"_Ok then, we will be back before sunset," Ardyn said while walking away beside him was Astraea._

"_Wait!" they both stop at the open door._

"_See Somnus I know you can't resist,"_

_He just sighed and walked to them, "No, I need you to take this and deliver this to the next town(Hammerhead)," he handed Ardyn a scroll and the healer took it, "And to make sure you two don't cause trouble…" he crossed his arms, "Cally!"_

_The fox guardian suddenly appeared on his shoulder, "What is it, master?" _

"_Please go with them and make sure they are okay,"_

"_Come one, Somnus we don't need supervision, I can protect myself and Astraea," Ardyn said with a smile on his face._

"_Cally is not there to protect the two of you, she will be there to stop you from causing trouble,"_

"_What? When did we cause trouble?" Ardyn asked._

_He gave him, are you kidding look, "Really? You two always come up with stupid ideas which cause trouble and gets yourself hurt, have you forgotten it already? " he asked, both sibling just smiled at him innocently._

"_What do you mean big brother Sommy, we never cause trouble," Astraea said smiling. _

_Somnus's __forehead furrowed_ "_Let me count, there one Dualhorn which you set loose in the marketplace," he counted with his fingers, "The Herd of Mesmenir you pissed off and that made them attack the nearby town. Your failed attempt to get a feather from Bennu and lastly trying to kill a Catoblepas! If you want more I can state all of them,"_

_The Fire Maiden's smile faded quickly, "That won't be necessary!" she chimed, "Come on Cally lets go!" the guardian jumped on her shoulder and the fire maiden went out the door._

_He sighed again and looked at his brother. Ardyn just smiled and patted him on the back, "We will be okay, Somnus don't worry," he said and started to walk away._

"_I counting on you brother, be the older brother this time and no more stupid ideas,"_

_The Healer just chuckled and waved his right hand in the air while walking away, "You have my word Somnus"_

_He just shook his head and went back to his desk before sitting down. He heard his siblings outside and looked down at the window to find Astraea was already riding Reno, while Gilgamesh and Ardyn were straddling their own Chocobo. While waiting Astraea looked up and waved at him, he waved back. A minute later Ardyn and Gilgamesh were ready and they sent off. He saw them as they disappeared from sight. He took a deep breath and looked up, the miasma is now clearing up and he can even see the blue sky, it is faint but still visible. After a minute he took a seat again and went back to work._

**…**

"I have forgotten about that, You been always the responsible one, Somnus," Reno said while sitting beside him on the floor, "Even if they cause you trouble and made you lost your temper you never give up of them,"

He smiled, "I need to, after all, both of them can be a handful," he chuckled softly but his smile faded, "I wish I could turn back time and went with them. For regretted my decision that day, I should come with them,"

"Why? What happened?" Regis asked.

He turned to him with sadness in his eyes, "For the day is the beginning of the downfall of our family,"

The sphere started to glow again.

**…**

_Somnus was now finished with his work and went walking around the Palace. He arrived at his favorite place, a giant tree near the main gate. He sat down and leaned on the trunk and drifted to sleep. He was awoken by the several screams he bolted up and ran towards the source of the commotion. Before he arrived he heard a soldier shouting._

"_The Princess is hurt! Call Lady Aera and Rosa, she needs healing!"_

_He finally arrived at the main gate, but palace soldiers were blocking his way._

"_Get out the way, let me through!" he shouted as he paved his way through. What he saw drain all the blood on his face._

_Reno was carrying Astraea's bloody and unconscious body. He saw the huge wound at her back and which kept on bleeding._

"_What happened!?" he shouted as he ran towards Reno's side, "Astraea?" he caressed his sister's cheek, it was cold and she was unresponsive, "ASTRAEA! What happened? tell me Reno!"_

"_Not now Somnus we need a potion," Reno replied._

"_Use your tears to heal her,"_

"_I tried! It did not work!" he shouted at him before Somnus could reply. Reno passed him and shouted, "Get some potion now!"_

_The Mystic was shocked and did not know what to do that when he heard Ardyn's shaking voice. He went to where he is, he saw The Healer on the ground kneeling, Gilgamesh is at his side, "I don't know what happened" Ardyn said while shaking, "I did not mean it…"_

_He just gazed at his brother, he saw the blood on his hands, it was shaking violently as Ardyn continued to speak, "I did not mean it… I lose control!"_

"_Brother, what happened?" he asked as he kneeled in front of him._

_Ardyn looked up with tears in his eyes, "Somnus... I… I…" The Healer looked down on his shaking hands, "Astraea…. I did not mean to do it… I did not mean to hurt her."_

_Somnus' eyes winded in horror as he heard his brother's voice. His temper raised as he heard the whispers inside his head._

"_**He is responsible!"**_

"_**He wounded the princess!"**_

"_**Make him pay!" **_

_He rose to his feet and opened his palm to summon his sword but before he could, Carbuncle appeared before them._

"_Reno needs you both of you Somnus, Ardyn!"_

_The whispers' voice inside of Somnus faded and he was able to regain his composure. He looked down at his brother who is still shaking, "Let's go, Astraea needs us!" he said angrily as he started to walk away. The memory faded._

**…**

"So what happened? Is Lord Ardyn really responsible for hurting Astraea?" Aerith asked.

Reno sighed, "It's a yes, and a no…"

They all gazed at each other in confusion, Reno saw this and said, "Yes, It was Ardyn who hurt her but he did not mean it. Let me showed you what happened,"

**...**

_Reno and Gigalmesh were standing with Carbuncle on his shoulder watching as two warriors finished off the Ghastly Griffon._

_Both siblings were laughing as they hid their weapons. Astraea went and took a potion and threw it at Ardyn. The healer was able to catch it and heal himself while Astraea did the same. After that Astraea went towards the body of the fallen Griffon to get some material._

"_Congrats!" Carbuncle announced, "You finally defeated the Ghastly Griffon Lord Ardyn and Astraea!"_

_Both siblings turned towards them, "Thanks Cally," The Fire Maiden said as she put a griffon feather on her bag and walked towards them, Ardyn followed from behind._

_Reno is about to walk to his master when he sees Ardyn holding his head in discomfort behind her. The white of his eyes turning black and iris glowing yellow. But before he could say anything. The Healer suddenly summoned his sword and slashed The Fire Maiden in the back. She screamed as she felt on the ground. The Healer is about to attack again but Reno was quick and went flying towards them. He kicked the healer in the stomach which sent him flying and collided with a tree. Reno gathered Astraea who is now unconscious and glared at Ardyn._

"_What the HELL do you think you doing ARDYN!" he shouted as his hands turned into talons but his anger faded as he saw the warrior's body shaking violently._

"_STOP!" He said through gritted teeth, "I won't let you harm her,"_

_Gilgamesh and Carbuncle went towards the warrior's side to help him. The Healer's eyes returned to normal as he composed himself and stood up and turned towards them, "Astraea…" he held a hand towards his sister._

"_STOP!" Reno snarled as he stood up and carried Astraea, "Don't come near her…"_

_Ardyn's face felt and as he stopped on his tracks before the healer could say a word. Reno's wings burst from behind and he went flying back. His memory faded to black and returned again this time they are inside Astraea's chamber. Aera and Rosa were cleaning Astraea's wound when suddenly the brothers burst through the door. When he saw Ardyn he went in front of him and held his hands which turned into talons in defense. _

_The older brother saw this and stopped on his tracks, while Somnus was able to go to Astraea beside._

"_What happened? Somnus's anger raised as he saw the state of Astraea, she was on leaning on her stomach as Aera and Rose tried to heal her wounds. But every time they tried using a potion it won't work. "What is happening why is she not working and is not healing her?" he asked as he turned to Reno._

_The guardian turned to him and looked at his master then towards the healer, his eyes glared for a moment as he closed his talons to prevent him from attacking the champion of Bahamut, "It won't work because it was Ardyn who wounded her," he said as he went towards her bedside, Rosa gave way for him. His eyes traced the large wound on her back. The cut was large and diagonal from her shoulder to her waist, "For each of you are the weakness of one another. Each one can cancel the ability of the other and so if you wound one another, no magic or potion can heal that wound, have you forgotten?" he asked._

"_Is she going to be alright?" Ardyn took a step forward but stopped when he met by glares from both of them. The healer's face turned into a pang of sadness as tear-filled_ _his eyes. His body started to shake, "I'm sorry I don't know what happened. I blackout and don't have control of my body, believe me..." he took a step forward, "I would never hurt her, Somnus…. You knew that…. I will never hurt our sister…"_

_They saw how Ardyn was trying his best not to break down, But Reno and Somnus stayed alert and did not do or say anything. Aera is the only one who reacted and went towards the trembling warrior, "My love…I knew you didn't mean it, just tell us what really happened?" Aera guided him towards the table and made him sit down. His hands were shaking and with his trembling voice explained everything._

_He said that very moment the Whisper's inside of his head ordered him to attack her. He tried to fight them off but he failed, he lost control over his body, he was helpless as the whisper took control and attacked Astraea from behind. He was able to regain control after Reno attacked him. After explaining he went towards his sister but his brother and Reno still stopped him._

_Somnus summoned his sword and pointed it towards him, "Are you in control now or the whispers are still inside your head?" he asked in a stern voice._

_The healer's eyes widened as he saw his brother's reaction, he slowly held his arm up, "Yes… Somnus… I'm in control… trust me…" he sincerely said, "Please just let me see her, I might be able to treat to her wounds,"_

_He and Somnus gazed at each other then turned towards him again._

"_Somnus…" Carbuncle appeared on Ardyn's shoulder, "Your brother is telling the truth, this is not his doing. So please be at ease, Astraea needs him now,"_

_Their anger faded and they let the Healer tend Astraea's wound. As Ardyn started to treat Astraea Reno's memory faded._

_**...**_

"As you see the daemons inside of Ardyn started to get stronger," Reno said as he gazed at the sphere.

"Was Astraea able to recover?" Regis asked.

"Yes, Lord Ardyn was able to treat her wounds, she slept for a week and during that week The Healer lost her control again, he attacked me and Reno he even attacked the Oracle. He even tried to kill Astraea in her sleep. Because of that, I made a decision to lock him inside his chamber for his safety and ours, " The Mystic eyes darted towards the floor, "I thought I was doing the right thing, but I made it worse for him and for the whole family. The last time he lost control he tried to attack me and Bahamut's crystal. We fought and I ended up wounding him severely. But before we could imprison him again, he escaped and left the palace. We tried to search for him but we could not find him. During those days we heard he continue to heal our people,"

"But why? It will just speed up the process of corruption right? all those daemons inside of him?" Dave asked.

"For he is a warrior of Light," Carbuncle answered, "It's his duty to heal the people, he never forgets about that, even he is fighting the darkness from the inside."

"Carbuncle is right," Somnus added, "Just like our sister, my brother is selfless and will do anything to help those in need even cause him harm,"

"I should not have treated him badly at then," Reno scratched the back on his neck, "I should have known better, but seeing Astraea like that kept me from thinking straight. It was not Ardyn you did those things but the whispers inside of him, and he knows that so the reason why he distances himself from us. He is trying to protect us, especially the two of you. He will never hurt you, after all, he loved you very much,"

Somnus nodded, "Yes he did… but back then I did not see that… just like you, I only saw him as a monster. I regretted that, for just like him, I fell into darkness. I let the whispers use me and the worse part is we kept it all from Astraea after she learned what I have done, our family started to drift apart," The sphere lit up and showed another memory.

**…**

_He was inside Astraea's chamber, Aera was tending and changing the bandage of the Fire Maiden._

_The princess flinched a little after Aera applied an ointment on her wound._

"_So where is Ardyn right now?" Astraea asked._

_He shook his head, "Sorry Astraea, I don't know, our brother just left and did not come home,"_

"_And you're not worried about him?" _

_He stood up from the table and went towards the bed and handed her a cup of water, "You should be worried about yourself Astra, you almost die from the ordeal,"_

"_You're not answering my question brother?" she brushed the cup away, "Are you not worried about our brother, and where is he?"_

_He took a deep breath and looked at Aera. The oracle nodded and went out of the room to give them time to talk._

"_Astraea…" he sat on her bedside, "I know you worried about our brother but remember that he attacked you and you almost died because of that… and he attacked me several times too while you were asleep and not only that h-"_

_Astraea interrupted him, "But you know he did not mean that our brother would not do that!" she grabbed his forearm._

_He gazed at her shaking hands, he removed it and put it in her lap and patted it, "I know but…" he stopped and gazed at her intently he then took a deep breath and sighed, "He tried to kill you again when you were asleep. He is dangerous Astra, we would not go near him," he saw how her eyes changed from being soft to glaring at him._

"_You're not serious right? You're just joking right?" she quivered. _

_He just gazed at her and replied in a stern tone, "No, I'm not, Ardyn is a danger to us all, and you must not go to him!"_

"_WHAT!" she stood up and glared at him, "Why are you saying that! You treat him like some kind of daemon!"_

"_For he is a monster!" he shouted as he stood up._

_Suddenly Astraea slapped him, he just stood shocked and looked at her wide-eyed._

"_How could you say that brother… Ardyn has always been there for us, I know he won't hurt me, I believe in him… I will save him..." she started to walk away. He suddenly grabbed her forearm. She glared at him and her forearm started to heat up. It burned the Mystic's hand and he stepped back as Astraea eyes glowed fiery red. _

_She did not say anything and called Reno. The phoenix appeared instantly, He did not have time to stop them as Reno turned into his phoenix form, Astraea straddled him and they went out the window to look for the Healer._

_He just sighed and looked at his burned hand and sat down on the bed contemplating what he had said and done. With that the memory faded again._

_**...**_

After seeing his own memory and how he acted like that he cursed himself and gazed around the room. He noticed how the King and his people's expressions changed. They all shared the same expressions, displeasing and doubtful at the founder King. He heard Reno sighed as he ruffled his hair.

"If you're gonna say something Reno, just say it right now. I knew you have sore feelings for me, especially how I treated Astraea,"

"What me?" he asked in a cheerful way as he crossed his leg and arms as he gazed at him, "I don't have a sore feeling for you, _Your_ _Majesty_" he smiled.

"Don't lie to me _Big Bird,"_ he folded his arms too, "I know you resented me."

Reno smiled faded as he averted his eyes, "Yes I did hate you for what you did and the way you acted back then, cost Astraea her life,"

He felt a pain in his chest when he heard his reply. A pang of sadness can be seen in his face. Reno saw this and he made _Tsk _sound, "But I know you did because of your love for her. As her big brother you promise that we will be there for her and keep her from harm but you just went overboard."

Somnus laughed with sadness, "Yes, I know, after all, _too much hope is the opposite of despair, an overpowering love may consume you in the end._ I learned it in a hard way."

Reno snorted "No...We all learned from it," he gazed at him and smiled, "But after all, you have been through all those sleepless nights and suffering. I have forgiven you, Somnus," he bowed at him, "Let's us just forget about the past and move forward,"

The founder king returned to smile, "Yes, your right Reno, Thank you but we still need to look into our past so that we can't repeat the same mistake again," they both nodded in agreement, and silence filled the room again.

A minute later Regis cleared his throat and asked.

"So what happened after that? Was Astraea able to find Lord Ardyn?"

"Yes she did," Reno answered, "Not only that she was able to save in the nick of time. You see back then the whispers inside of Ardyn are getting stronger and stronger and he almost lost his mind to them but Astraea was able to save him. After searching for a whole day we found the Healer at the top of Mt. Ravatogh. Without a second thought Astraea quickly purified Ardyn before her brother could protest. She was successful all of the daemons inside of Ardyn went out and disappeared,"

"I thought flames of purification were killing her. Did it affect her, is that why she lost her life?" Aerith asked.

"No, she did not," The Founder King answered this time, "Because she was near where The Infernian was sleeping. She kinda borrowed some of his strength. But it still did affect her greatly, it caused her to be in a coma for a week again. After the day, Astraea could not use her ability properly and she can't use the flames of purification anymore, but she was happy,"

"Happy?" they all asked in unison.

"Yes happy," Carbuncled interject, "The princess was happy because she was able to save his brother and complete her family again. Lord Ardyn returned home and all was back to normal. We did not know what happened but the scourge suddenly disappear and nobody was getting infected any more but the Miasma is still there,"

"Really? So did you win? You three were able to eradicate the scourge?" Regis asked.

"No we did not, for Diabolos was just playing with us, we wanted us to feel secure before he attacked. After Ardyn's return, our relationship did not mend as much for my brother known I still have resentful and I did not trust him,"

"Did you?" Regis asked again.

"Yes I did, I still hated him for what he had done and the whispers inside my head was not helping either. They kept whispering evil things to me like Ardyn would betray us and kill us. But unlike my brother, I did not fall off them and did not let them control me but I was wrong, just like Diabolos was using Ardyn the dark Astral was using me too,"

"So what happened after that?" Cor asked.

"After Astraea woke up from her coma we tried to be a family again. But it was hard, Arydn and I kept distancing ourselves from one another. Our bond as brothers was _broken. _I thought I could mend the bond but I was wrong. Our last real conversation was during my 30th birthday celebration." The sphere started to show his memory again.

**…**

_They were inside the throne room and people were chanting happily as they drank wine, His eyes gazed around at the fire basket on top of the pillars. Astraea's flames were shining brightly and giving a warm and safe feeling. He took a deep breath and gazed at Bahamut's crystal above the empty throne._

"_Are you ready to become king?"_

_He turned to his side to find his brother, Ardyn eyes were fixated at the throne, "Don't say that, you can be chosen too, brother," he replied in an honest tone._

_Ardyn just chuckled, "Really do you think the crystal will pick me after all I have done?" The healer turned to him, "Don't lie to yourself Somnus, you know what is going to happen just prepare for the future. I know you have __**Whispers**_ _inside of you too but you are able to fight them, so please don't let them win and continue your fight and save this kingdom," Before he could reply Ardyn went towards Aera. He was just left standing there alone, he was about to leave but the sudden commotion stopped him. He turned to the crowd to find his sister. Astraea was wearing the same red dress and the tiara she wore during the fall of Solheim. His eyes widened as Astraea slowly went to the middle of the room and smiled at everyone. He turned towards Ardyn who was the same expression as him. Before he could take one step the fire maiden spoke up._

"_People of Lucis," she announced, "Thank you for coming here and celebrating our brother's Somnus Lucis Caelum 30th birthday," she turned to him and smiled, "I want to thank the Astrals for giving me a brother like him," she continued to smile, "I hope he will continue to guide us and gave us_ _**hope**_ _for the future," she returned her gaze towards the people, "For this, I want to offer this song for him, brother… this is for you, thank you for everything…" she bowed down and started to sing. (Fate/Stay Night - "Brave Shine" (FULL Opening) | ENGLISH ver | AmaLee)_.

**...**

"Wait, is that Reno's memory? Why is it different?" Clarus asked.

Reno laughed, "You have a great memory Clarus, yes it was my memory but the memory I showed you back in the council was half lie and half-truth, I apologize, after all, I can't just show what really happened and who is Astraea really is, it too risky,"

"I apologize too," Somnus added, "I'm the one who made those fake memory for I don't want Astraea to remember her memory, not her real one least," Clarus just nodded at the explanation wit that the sphere continued

**…**

_After signing the crowd cheered and clapped for the Princess. Astraea just smiled and waved her hand in the direction of the crowd. Then she went toward him._

"_So what do you think?" she asked innocently._

_He just gazed at her. It was really the red dress she wore during her 20th birthday, "Why are you wearing that?" he asked._

"_Oh...this? She held the end of the dress up, "This dress I wore at my 20th birthday?"_

_His right brow raised, "So you knew? Why wear it?"_

"_I knew it had bad memories but it had good ones too, after all, __**Terra**_ _created it for me. If we want to move forward, We need to forget about the past and look towards the future," she smiled, "So this is why I wore this again. Our past may be tragic but it gave us the strength to fight. Because of those experiences, we were able to defeat the starscourge, so stop moping around and smile, it's your birthday after all,"_

_He forced a smile, "Your right, I apologize," he patted her on the head._

_She just smiled back, "So what about my song? Did you like it? I wrote it myself,"_

_He laughed, "Yes it was great, but you still need practice. You're a bit pitchy," he ruffled her hair._

"_What! NO! I'm not!" she protested._

_The Mythic just laughed more loudly and ruffled her crimson hair more. Astraea kept on protesting, finally, she snapped back, "You're dead Sommy!" she glared at him. He retracted his hand and closed his eyes and prepared for the worse. But it did not come. He took a peek and saw her walking away from him. He sighed in relief but it all changed after Astraea returned with __Ashelia._

"_Hey brother, why not ask Lady Ashe here for dance, after all, she went here for you," she grinned while pushing Ashelia_ _towards the founder king._

_He was able to catch the maiden and glared at her, "Astra! What do you think you're doing,"_

"_Oh come on. Sommy...," she cooed, "I know you like her and she likes you, right Lady Ashe?"_

_Ashelia just blushed and hid her face, he saw this made his cheeks blush too. Astraea saw this and went for the attack._

"_You know... I saw both of your future," she said cheerfully while grinning ear to ear._

"_What is our future?" he asked._

"_Yup, I know I should not tell you because it can change it. But I know it will not and that will be your future for sure,"_

"_So what future is that Lady Astraea?" Ashelia asked shyly._

_The Fire Maiden turned to her and smiled brightly, "One year, for now, you two will be married and after a year you two will have a son and you will name him __**HOPE**__!"_

"_WHAT!" both of them screamed and they looked at each other. _

_Astraea just giggled, "So you two should be preparing for your marriage now so... BYE!" she waved her hand and ran towards Reno._

"_Wait Astraea!" he held his hand but Astraea left the room with Reno. he stood speechless and did not even glance at the women beside him. He gulped and took a deep breath._

'_If that is my future, so be it,' he thought, then he turned around and held his hand up and smiled, "Astraea might be lying… but still, do you want to dance Lady Ashelia?"_

_Ashelia smiled and took his hand, they went towards the center of the room and started to dance._

_**...**_

Reno laughed as he saw the memory, "Wow Sommy, when it comes to the ladies you're bravely diminished," Reno joked, Carbuncle can't help but giggle too. The Mystic just snarled and glared at them. Both guardians bolted upright and stopped laughing. The Founder King just scoffed at them and gazed at the sphere again.

"So did you AND Lady Ashelia really get married?" Aerith asked shyly.

The founder king just sighed and glanced at her, "Yes we did, just like Astraea predicted, but enough will my love life. We are here for Astraea memory,"

"Oh.. sorry… please continue," Aerith replied.

The mystic just nodded and continued, "After the night, the daemon was nowhere to be found either, for three days no daemons appeared at night and the kingdom of Lucis was peaceful. Back then Ardyn and I were still preparing for any time now the crystal would choose the king. But we never did see the darkness was coming our way. The memory about to show you it the last night the house Caelum was peaceful, for after that Diabolos made his move and destroyed what little bond Ardyn and I have for each other.

**…**

_Somnus was so deep in his thoughts that he did not hear Astraea calling to him._

"_Hey brother!" she whispered, "SOMMY!" she waved her hand in front of his face._

_The Mystic snapped back into reality and gazed at her. She was sitting in front of him on his desk. There they were playing chess, "Sorry," he gazed down at the board and made a move._

"_So why the long face? Are you still thinking about what I told you about your future with Lady Ashe?" she asked as she moved her piece._

"_No! I'm not," he answered, "I was just thinking about why the daemons disappear, I'm worried," he moved his piece._

"_Why should we be celebrating! We are winning brother!" she said cheerfully as she moved a piece._

"_Maybe you're right but still we need to be careful," he whispered as he moved a piece. Astraea nodded and moved her piece._

_They continued to play in silence and suddenly the whispers inside of him whispered something. Their voices are many but they speak in unison. _

'_**Our master is coming back… he will kill everyone you love! And Lord Ardyn will be his accomplice. Ardyn will fall and he will finish what he started…. He will kill the Fire Maiden! The only thing you can do is kill him before he kills her! Do IT!'**_

'_**SHUT UP!' **__he screamed mentally at them,_ '_**I will not follow your words daemons!'**_

_The whispers laughed, '__**Don't say we warned you…'' **__the voices started to fade and were replaced by Astraea joyful screams._

"_CHECKMATE!"_

_He blinked several times and looked down at the board, Astraea indeed defeated him._

"_I WON! FINALLY AFTER ALL THIS YEAR! I FINALLY DEFEATED YOU BROTHER!" Astraea shouted in joyous laughter._

_He just sat back and glanced at his sister's smiling face, he smiled, "Congrats you finally did you, Astra…"_

"_Yup!" she smiled at him, "So are you going to fulfill your promise?"_

"_My promise?"_

"_Yes your promise, that if I defeated you… you will tell me what happened back on Solheim After all my memory are still not back yet,"_

"_Oh that promise…" he paused for a bit, contemplating if he will tell her or not, "If you really want Astraea then I will tell you now," he whispered as he leaned in._

_His sister just gazed at him and shook her head, "No… not yet I still need to defeat our big brother first so…." she stood up and started to gather the chess pieces._

"_Wait here, I'm going to fight him now, maybe I will be lucky today and will defeat our brother too!" she announced as he ran out the door._

"_Wait Astra!" he stood up but Astraea was already out of sight. He sighed and took a seat, he leaned in and put his elbows on the table and placed his forehead in the back on his hands. _

'_Do we really need to tell her the truth? Will she be able to forgive us?' he questioned himself, he was surprised when the Whispers answered him._

'_**She will not… she will hate you!'**_

'_**She will curse both of you!'**_

_They were laughing and making fun of him._

'_**You call yourself a brother… keeping the truth for her all this time…'**_

'_**Just accept it you two failed your family for you are weak!'**_

'_**You will fall into darkness just like your brother, Our master will win and take this word for his own!'**_

'_**We will start by the DEATH OF THE FIRE MAIDEN!'**_

"_NO!" He shouted and slammed his hands as he stood up. _

_The sphere stopped and his memory faded as he tried to control his anger._

**…**

"So they really want Astraea dead huh," Dave said as he crossed his arms.

"Yes," Reno replied, "Diabolo's main goal is to kill the source of the Light, which was Astraea. As her guardian I failed her," he gazed down and clutched in hands together it started to shake, "I failed her," he was doing his best now to cry. Carbuncle saw this and comforted her fellow guardian, she jumped to his shoulder and wrapped her tail around him.

"Don't be like that Reno you did everything you could, just like you, I failed to protect Lord Arydn and Somnus, so let me join you on this…"

The guardian just lowered his head and hugged the fox guardian tightly. Silent filled the room again. After a while the guardians were able to compose themselves.

"Sorry about that…" Reno said as he brushed his bang upright, "Please continue Somnus, The faster we do this, the faster we can move forward and forget about the past."

The Founder King nodded and gazed around, they all nodded in agreement. So with the snap of his finger and the sphere glowed and started to show his memory again.

**…**

_He was with Carbuncle. They were just looking at the lotus pond at midnight._

"_So are you alright, Master Somnus?" Carbuncle asked as she jumped down at the railing of the gazebo._

_How many times I told you Cally stopped calling me Master, Somnus is fine…" he gazed down at her and patted her on the head._

_The fox guardian purred, "I just worried about you. You have __**Whispers **__inside of you, I can see them," she said as her eyes fixated at the founder King's heart._

"_You can see them?" he held a hand on his chest._

"_Yes, just like Ardyn you have them…"_

"_What? Does Ardyn still have them inside of him? I thought Astraea purified them?"_

"_Sorry, he made me hide it from you but..." Carbuncle lowered her head, "The Healer started to absorb the __**starscourge **__and __**whispers **__inside his body unwillingly. He does have the ability to stop it, I'm afraid that Ardyn will be corrupted in the future."_

_He felt a pit in his stomach as he heard Carbuncle's words, "What…? he murmured. Then what he heard next made his skin crawl. The whispers inside of him laughed maniacally as they gave a sinister warning._

'_**Told you… she will die…'**_

_Suddenly he felt a strong ominous and dark presence coming from Ardyn's chamber._

_Carbuncle jumped towards his shoulder as he ran inside the palace as he was running towards the hallway he met Reno and Gigalmesh who was going towards Ardyn's Chambers as well. Suddenly they heard Astraea scream in agony. He used his warping ability to go faster, he arrived, kicked the door open, and what he saw made his face turn pale._

_Astraea was laying on the floor, bleeding around them were scattered chess pieces Ardyn was straddling her. His right hand choking her while his left hand raised with Astraea's red dagger. The healer is about to plunge the dagger in her heart but he summoned his weapon and warped towards them, knocking Ardyn away from their sister._

"_Astraea!" he went and cradled her, she had a deep wound on her right shoulder and several cuts on the face and dark fingers marks in the around her neck, "Astraea" he whispered. The Fire Maiden opened her eyes and closed them again as she lost consciousness. Reno was able to go to them; he gently gave her towards the guardian as he stood beside Gilgamesh and glared at his brother._

_Ardyn's eyes were totally black his iris glowing bright yellow and the Starscourge was dripping from his eyes and mouth. The healer snarled at them and raised the dagger towards them. The Starscourge started to gather beneath Ardyn and he summoned his sword and lunged forward. The future shield was caught off guard and was sent flying out of the room. The Mythic and The Healer blades met, sparks went flying in the air as Ardyn continued to attack relentlessly. He was able to block his last attack but Ardyn used Astraea dagger to slash at his neck but he was able to avoid and kicked Ardyn in the stomach which sent the healer to the other side of the room._

"_BROTHER! STOP THIS!" he shouted._

_Ardyn did not listen and growled and lunged forward again. He ready himself but a weak voice came from behind them, "Addy please stop,"_

_The healer suddenly stopped on his tracks and held his head in discomfort. The founder king turned around to see Astraea trying to stand up before he could go to her, Ardyn spoke his name._

"_Somnus?"_

_He turned around to see Ardyn was now back to normal, the scourge was gone so did his sword but he still had Astraea danger in his left hand, "What… happened?" he uttered as he took a step forward. He pointed his sword at him. Ardyn stopped and gazed around to see the destruction and all the blood on the floor, then he looked at his left hand which held the danger. His eyes-widened to see it was covered with his sister's blood and gazed at their sister._

_Ardyn shook his head, "No…" as he took another step back. His hands started to shake and he let go of the dagger, he screamed as he held his head in discomfort._

"_NO! Stop!" he shouted in agony._

_Astraea was able to stand up slowly and walked toward his brother but Ardyn shouted at her, "STOP! STAY AWAY!" Somnus suddenly grabbed Astraea's arm and yanked her back and stood in front. _

_Ardyn's eyes were filled with fear as he tried to be in control, he gazed at thier sister and then to him, "Protect her Somnus…"_

_Before he could talk Ardyn suddenly warped out the window._

"_ARDYN!" Astraea shouted as she ran towards the window but her knees gave way and she collapsed on the floor and lost consciousness._

"_Astraea!" He shouted as he ran to her side._

_**...**_

Somnus sighed, "After that Ardyn never showed his face again in the Palace or in the town. I searched everywhere for him but I never did find him."

"Maybe because you're searching for him to kill him," Reno cooed as he gazed at him, "Not only that you made him a fugitive and label him as a monster, and you're asking why you can't find him,"

"Why not! you saw what he did to Astraea!" Somnus stood up, glared at the guardian.

"Woah…" Reno stood up and held his hand, "Stop this Somnus, I am not fighting with you, control your anger it's only a memory,"

Somnus' eyes softened as his anger faded and gazed around him and saw the people looking at him anxiously, "I apologize…" he held his head and sat down again, "My emotions are just so strong that night that it's still affecting even today," he murmured as he averted his gaze from the people around him.

"It's okay Somnus, we understand," Regis said.

"Yeah, don't sweat it, Sommy," Reno patted him on the back.

The founder king just nodded and sat up straight again, "Just like Reno said, I made Ardyn an enemy of the crown. We hunted him for he is a danger to himself and to others, back then I was ready to kill him for what he had done to Astraea. I don't want to admit but the whispers are able to influence me back then. So instead of understanding my brother's predicament, I wanted to make him pay for what he had done. After all this is the second time he has done that."

"What about the Princess, what is her thought about her brother being hunted?" Clarus asked.

"She doesn't have one, for her wounds made her weak and caused her to be in a coma again. This time she slept for a month because Ardyn did infect her with the starscourge, and we're just lucky that she was able to fight it all on her own."

"So what happened? after she woke up?" Aerith asked.

"Well knowing Astraea, she might have disliked it right?" Dave asked.

"Dislike..? Try outrage," Reno said as the sphere showed his memory.

**…**

_There were inside the princess's chamber waiting for her to wake up. Somnus just ordered Gilgamesh to double the guards inside the palace ground and make sure that Ardyn could not enter. If he does take him down and imprison him. The future shield nodded and went out of the room._

_Aera was too busy changing bandages of Astraea while Reno and Somnus talked while sitting at the circular desk._

"_Do you think you overreacted, Somnus? stop this Ardyn needs our help,"_

"_I can't Reno. I gave him a second chance but he lost control again and attacked Astraea. You should be mad at him too, he almost killed your master."_

"_I known but Ardyn did not mean it, Somnus and you knew that, please reconsider, Astraea won't want this, she doesn't want our family broken like this,"_

_Somnus sighed and stood up, "Sorry Reno, but I can't. I will protect Astraea and Bahamut's Crystal even if against Ardyn."_

"_But Ardyn is not the enemy here, its Diabolos and his minions!"_

_Before Somnus could talk Astraea stirred and open her eyes. _

"_Astraea?" Somnus whispered and went towards her beside her._

"_Somnus…" she slowly blinked her eyes and gently sat up._

"_Thank the Astrals you're alright, We thought we lost you," he caressed her right cheek._

"_I'm fine… what about you? Are you okay?" The Mystic nodded, "So where is Ardyn? Is he okay?"_

_Somnus leaned back and gazed at Reno and Aera, "Can you give us time to talk?"_

_They both nodded and went out of the room. Then the sphere changed into the point of view of the founder King._

_**...**_

_Somnus then transferred into the other side of the bed and continued to clean Astraea's wound._

"_Somnus you're not answering my question, where is Ardyn?"_

"_Gone…" he said in a toneless voice as he started to replace the old bandage for a new one._

"_What? Why?" he did not answer and kept on tending her wound. She grabbed his hands to stop him, "Brother… where is Ardyn?"_

_He sighed and leaned back, "He is our enemy now Astraea, I ordered our men to hunt him down,"_

"_What!" he saw the disbelief in her eyes, "You can't do that, our brother! He did not mean it! Please Somnus stop this we need to find and help him,"_

"_That is enough Astraea!" he stood up, "You almost died because of what he had done! He is our enemy now… so stop looking for him, He does not care for you anymore! so just stop it!"_

_"Do you hear yourself, Somnus!" his sister leaped out of bed and glared at him, "It was the daemon inside of him that made him do that! Ardyn would not hurt me or you! And you saw how he struggled to control them!"_

_"And you saw how he failed! you tried helping him, Astraea. You even sacrifice your life for him but in the end he failed you. He let the darkness take over, If our brother truly loved us then he should have not fallen to the darkness."_

_"Your speaking nonsense brother! I will not listen to you. I'm going to find him and save our brother even if it's the last thing I do," she walked past him and went for the door._

_"Astraea!" He yanked her back, "You're not going anywhere... I forbid it," _

_The Fire Maiden tried to get free. He started to hear the whispers again._

'_**If she finds him, he will kill her for sure,'**_

'_**Don't let it happen, be the better brother and protect your sister…'**_

'_**Be better than Ardyn!'**_

"_I SAID NO!" he yanked her back and threw her in the bed._

_Astraea was taken aback first but she was able to fight back, she stood up and pushed him, "You can't order me like that Somnus, You're not the king!"_

_He grabbed her hands and glared at her, "But I'm still your older brother so listen to me!"_

"_WHY are like this!" Astraea started to cry while trying to get free from his grip, "What happened to you?" _

"_I'm the champion of Bahamut and Warrior of Light, It's my duty to protect the future. If I will be chosen King I make su-"_

"_What makes you sure you will be chosen?" she asked angrily._

"_You think Ardyn will? He had fallen into darkness, do you think the Crystal will choose a monster like him?" he snarled._

"_I rather choose him than you! Ardyn is more suited to be king! So stop trying to beat him, you'll never be him!"_

"_Stop comparing me to Ardyn!" Somnus snapped and slapped her. The fire maiden fell on the floor and started to bleed again._

_He stood shocked at what he did, he saw her looking at him with tears in her eyes, "Astraea…" he tried to bend down but he felt Reno's talon around his neck._

"_Move and I will kill you!" Reno snarled at him._

"_Reno… please stop," Astraea whispered as she lowered her head. The guardian did what his master said and backed down._

"_Are you alright Princess?" Reno helped her up. She took his hand and stood up and looked up to her brother._

"_You right Somnus, You're not our brother, you will never be like him…" she started to walk away._

_His hands turned in a fist as Astraea and Reno passed him. The whispers continued to speak to him._

'_**Don't let her go! She will die if she leaves the palace.'**_

'_**Protect her…'**_

'_**Prove to her that you are better than your brother!'**_

"_Astraea!" he shouted at them, they both stopped and looked back. He went in front of them and stood in the middle of the open door._

"_I promise our parents that I will protect you,"_

"_I don't need your protection Somnus, not from you…so please step aside I need to find our brother,"_

_He held in his arms up to stop her, "I'm sorry Astra…. I can't let you do that… I hope you can forgive me for this…"_

_Before Astraea could speak a barrier appeared between them and around the entire chamber. _

_Both Astraea and Reno were shocked. Carbuncle appeared on Somnus's shoulder, her red horn glowing._

"_Cally?" she whispered the guardian name as she tried to touch the barrier but once her fingers touched it reacted and gave her a small static shock._

"_Sorry… Princess… it's my master order…." the fox guardian lowered her head._

"_No…" she murmured and looked at her brother, "You can't do this….Somnus!" Astraea went and pounded the barrier with a closed fist, "Take this barrier away! You can't do this!"_

_He looked at her sister solemnly, "Sorry…. Astraea but I will not… Lucis will not fall like Solheim, I make sure of that…" he started to walk away and Astraea kept screaming._

"_SOMNUS! PLEASE! ARDYN NEEDS OUR HELP! SOMNUS!"_

**…**

"Wow…" Dave lets out a sighed.

Somnus gazed at him, Dave gulped and lowered his head, "My apologize,"

"Don't be…" Somnus shook his head, "I knew my action back then was horrible, but what can I do? As a big brother I have to protect her and you know what saying right Dave? As a big brother we need to do everything to protect our sibling."

"Yes your right…" Dave answered as he looked at Aerith.

"Not only siblings but our loved ones too," Reno added, "But you really did go overboard Somnus."

Somnus gazed down, "I know…nobody likes to be imprisoned in their own home…"

"So… what I'm doing is wrong? Regis asked.

"No… Just like Somnus, You're just protecting your son and Astraea Your Majesty, but like Somnus too are going overboard, better slowed down for a bit" Reno gave the king a small smile.

"Reno is right Regis, don't follow me, give Astraea and the Prince a space to grow and don't overprotect them, they can do that on their own. Just be there to guide them. After all, they are the chosen warrior of Light,"

Regis just nodded, "Alright, I will do that…"

"I'm counting on King Regis," Somnus said, both kings, bowed at each other and smiled.

"So what happened? Did Lord Ardyn return and you were able to patch your relationship with your siblings, founder King?" Clarus asked.

Somnus smiled bitterly, "I wished that is what happened but it did not…" he paused and leaned back, "Astraea was so mad at me that she would talk to me anymore. But she did continue making her potion, but for her, I'm the enemy, not Ardyn,"

"But of course!" Reno bellowed, "You locked in her room for two months!"

"I known I'm a jerk back then but you can't blame me Reno, I just protecting her, especially after the daemons where back again,"

"What! the daemons?" Cor asked.

"Yes..." Reno answered, "After that night… the daemon appeared again, this time more powerful than before and the starscourge swept all over Eos,"

"Without Ardyn's healing and Astraea flames of Purification, Eos plunged into chaos and It did not help as Warriors Of Light were broken and scattered," Carbuncle murmured, "Diabolos had won and destroyed the bond which held Lucis safe,"

"Diabolos did really played us back then," Reno snarled, "He is really the God of discord and deception,"

All of them lowered their heads and remain silent for a while.

"And just like Ardyn he used me for his game," Somnus whispered as he gazed at his right hand, "I listened to the shadow inside me and followed them blindly,"

"What do you mean?" Regis asked.

"Went the starscourge returned, I returned to my old self again, I have to cleanse Lucis of all darkness and I did what I needed to do and without Ardyn and Astraea stopping me. I went back on my old way in dealing with the scourge,"

"You mean you kil-'' Aerith did not finish her sentence.

"Yes, I killed again. While searching for Ardyn I ordered my soldiers to kill and burn anyone who had the scourge, no one was exempted, men, women, and children, in my eyes they are corrupted and a danger to the people and need to be terminated. I did what I must to save Eos," he turned his open hand into a fist as he closed his eyes.

The people around him just remained silent, thinking of the right words to say. The room plunged into deep silence. After three minutes Reno broke the silent, "Enough of this silence, let continue,"

Somnus nodded and continued, "After a month I let Astraea out of her room, for she started to starve herself. Astraea never did like conflict so instead of fighting with me, she gave me the silent treatment and won't eat anything. I do have the choice but to yield to her."

"So what happened? Did she search for Ardyn immediately?" Cor asked.

"No she did not," Reno replied, "Astraea just remained inside the Kingdom and help the people of Lucis,"

"Why? I thought she wanted to save her brother," Cor asked again.

"Even if she wants to, she can't. See back then Astraea can't use her ability anymore, she can't even summon a single fire, we don't know why but it did not stop her in serving her people, so instead of searching for Ardyn she remained and sang to the people for her voice always calm the people down," Somnus replied as he gazed at the sphere.

**…**

_He was standing beside Astraea as she gave her potions to the people. They were in the middle of the town. Reno and Aera were not far from them giving potions too._

"_Princess, Thank you," An elder woman bowed to her._

"_It's nothing… please if you need more just tell me," she replied with a soft smile._

_The people started to gather around him. He did not like it and ordered his men. The soldiers started to push the crowd away._

_Astraea just glared at him, the founder King just shrugged, "Let's go, we need to go home, it's already sunset,"_

_The Fire maiden just sighed and nodded and followed her brother, but the crown stopped them from leaving._

"_NO, Princess don't go!" _

"_Stay here Princess,"_

"_Sing for us Princess!"_

_They all shouted, Astraea stopped and gazed at him. He glanced around and looked back at his sister. Astraea's eyes were pleading to him, he sighed, "Just one song, then we're going back at the Palace."_

_She nodded and turned around and smiled at the crowd, "People of Lucis, I known we are in hard times and the darkness seems to surround us but don't lose __**hope**__," her eyes glanced at the founder king and back at the crowd, "Always bear in mind, the light is always inside of you so please don't let darkness sink it and keep fighting, for I and my brothers are with you. We will defeat this darkness and see the light once again."_

_The people cheered and clapped. The Fire Maiden stood straight and breathed deeply and started to sing a song. (__Fire Emblem: Three Houses - "The Edge of Dawn" | AmaLee Ver)._

_Somnus did not listen to Astraea properly as he was too busy looking around. He was looking for Ardyn. After all, a soldier did report to him that he saw the Healer of the People inside the kingdom. He was so busy that he did not even notice that Astraea was finished with her song. The people cheered and clapped in all that commotion, he saw Ardyn standing at every end of the crowd. He was cloak over his head but he knew it was him. The whispers inside of Somnus started to speak again to him._

'_**It's him, he is here to kill both of you!'**_

'_**KILL HIM!' **_

_He is about to summon his sword but Astraea hands stopped him, "Brother? What is wrong?"_

_The founder King just looked at her for a minute and back at the crowd. Ardyn is now gone and nowhere to be seen. He greeted his teeth and looked back at Astraea._

"_Are you finished?" she nodded, "Then let's go!" Somnus said a stern tone as he walked away. The memory faded._

**…**

"You know Somnus if you just listen back then, you should have known what Astraea is telling you," Reno said as he gazed at him.

"Telling me? She never says anything to me,"

Reno sighed, "Have you forgotten, Astraea is like you. She does like showing her emotion. She used her voice and her song to tell you but you too distracted to even notice," Somnus gave him an odd look, "Just watched your memory again and listened very carefully"

Somnus nodded and played his memory again. This time they all listened very intently to Astraea songs.

"_Reach for my hand, I soar away_

_Into the dawn, I wish I could stay_

_Here in cherished halls in peaceful days,_

_I fear the edge of dawn knowing time betrays" _

"Is she saying her goodbye?" Aerith whispered as a memory pause and showed Astraea eyes full of emotion.

"Yes," Reno said as he stood up, "For the fire Maiden already knows what lays ahead,"

"What? She knows it all along!" Somnus asked.

Reno turned to him, "Yes, even with that burden, she faces her fate with _**Courage, Hope **_and _**Love,"**_

* * *

_**A/N: **_Sorry for the long update. Next up... my own take what really happened during Final Fantasy XV: Episode Ardyn - Prologue. How Ardyn became the Adagium and like Somnus, Ardyn has his own theme, and here it is (Kingdom Hearts - "Terra's Theme" | ORIGINAL LYRICS | Lizz Robinett & Lowlander). Just like Terra, Ardyn falls into darkness while trying to save his family.

P.S. The Terra, Astraea mentioned in the past is Terra Branford from FFVI. She will be a very important character in the future.

THANK YOU! I hope you enjoy this and have a wonderful day and keep safe!✩


	25. Chapter 23

**A/N:** if you want to see the sketches just search for the name I provided... I wish I could draw like that... and again credit to the owners

To my lovely readers that made this far, I want to thank you for your support, I just want to inform you that I edit and rewrite the Prologue: Solheim and The War of the Astrals, that edit will play a big part in the future. I did a few edits on chapter 3 The flames within too when Kadaj attack Astraea nothing big just added extra few scenes.

* * *

**Recalling of The Past: Fate  
**_Hope is comforting. It allows us to accept fate, no matter how tragic it might be.  
\- Yunalesca, (Final Fantasy X)_

* * *

"What?" The founder king slowly rose from his seat, "She knew what fate leads ahead?" he asked.

Reno was looking at him sincerely and nodded, "Yes and she never stopped believing and hoping. During those days she found comfort, that she saw your future. Your bright future and your son… Hope right? Hope Lucis Caelum,"

Before Somnus could speak the sphere started to show Reno's memory. He decided to sit back down again and just watched the memory in silence.

**...**

_Reno slowly flapped his wings as he entered Astraea chamber from the terrace before landing he transformed into his human form only to find his master still awake, "You still up?" he asked as he walked towards her. Astarea did not look at him and continued what she was doing, "Astraea?" he stopped behind her to see that she was sketching before he opened his mouth Astraea spoke up._

"_Did you find him? Did you find my brother?" she turned around to meet his eyes._

_Reno averted his eyes and gazed down, "Sorry...but no… I could not find Ardyn anywhere, Astraea, I'm sorry…"_

"_It's fine Reno, you should not have to apologize,"_

_He could see the disappointment in her eyes, he frowned, she noticed it and smiled at him, "I said don't worry, Reno, Ardyn must be hiding…But I know he is safe" she said as she turned back toward the desk and continue to sketch, "Please be safe…" she whispered._

_Reno could hear her soft whimpers. She lowered her head, her crimson hair hiding her tears from the guardian. He bit his lip and his hand turned into a fist seeing his master like this, "Astraea," he brushed her hair gently, "Everything will be okay, Ardyn will come back and our family we be whole again," he cooed as he continued to brush her hair._

_The fire Maiden sniffled and brushed her tears away and turned to her guardian, "I know Reno… I just… I just….missed him, I miss our happy days together," she tried to keep herself from crying again._

"_Oh… come on...Astraea, don't cry," he said as he bent down to meet her eyes, "I'm here… your little Chocobo is here, please don't cry anymore…" he hugged her and she hugged him back._

_They shared a moment of silence as they continued their embrace. The only sound was the crackling firewood in the fireplace. After Astraea had finished crying, they broke the embrace. Reno wiped her tears away, "Always remember I will always be here, Princess…"_

_Astraea gave him a weak smile, "Thank you, Reno. I knew I could always count on you," she hugged him again and he returned it, "Always...my master…" After that, he rose to his feet and looked at the desk to find a sketch of someone, "Who is this?" he asked as he grabbed the sketch(Hope Estheim, __b-agt__) to get a better look._

"_Hope…"_

"_Hope?"_

"_Yup," Astraea grabbed the sketch and started to put finishing touches, she wrote a name under the sketch, "Hope Lucis Caelum… Somnus's and Lady Ashe's son,"_

"_What!" the guardian bellowed and grabbed the sketch again, "Are you serious! tell me you are joking!"_

_She laughed and shook her head, "Nope, I'm saying the truth I saw the future. Somnus and Lady Ashe will get married and they will have a son. That's how he will look like when he turned 14,"_

"_Woah… So Somnus will finally have the courage to tell Ashe his feelings after all," Reno's eyes smiled, Astraea giggled as she saw it, "So that means we have a future? We will defeat Diabolos and get rid of the starscourge?"_

"_Yes…" she nodded and rose to her feet and walked towards the terrace he followed her still holding the sketch in his hand._

"_So… you will be king? It's Lord Ardyn right?" he asked._

_The Fire Maiden turned to him and smiled, "No… Somnus will,"_

"_Really? Somnus will be king!?"_

"_Yup, The crystal will pick Somnus and he will be the __**founder King**_… _he will rise on the throne and the sun will shine again…" she said in a low tone as she gazed at the evening sky._

"_That's great! So our fight will soon come to an end!" Reno bellowed._

"_Yes… our fight will be over… it's just a shame Ardyn and I can't share it with you,"_

"_What?" Reno raised an eyebrow as he heard her statement, "What do you mean?"_

_She just took a deep breath and sighed, "Like I said I saw the future Reno. Somnus will be king, he will take the throne and the sun will rise again…but…" she paused and turned to him. Reno's eyes widened to see that Astraea was crying again before he could give his reaction, Astraea continued, "But…. Ardyn and I will not be there to see it… for we will die before it happens…"_

"_WHAT!" Reno shouted as the sketch fell from his hand and drifted with the wind, "Tell me your joking Astraea," he grabbed both of her shoulders and started to shake it, "TELL ME IT'S NOT TRUE!"_

_She shook her head lazily, "I'm telling the truth Reno…" she murmured, "I'm going to die together with Ardyn… we need to sacrifice ourselves so that Lucis will have a future…"_

"_No! you're not! Are you insane! I will not let it happen!" he shouted at her, his fingers turning into talons and digging into her flesh. She whimpered hearing this, he suddenly pulled his hands away and stepped back, "Sorry, Astraea…I'm so sorry, are you okay? Did I hurt you?"_

_The fire maiden just smiled at him sadly, "I'm okay Reno, don't worry…" she gazed down, "But as I said, I'm going to die, Reno. This is my fate as the __**Fire Maiden**_… _I can't escape it… Like Ardyn I must face it, it's our destiny as both __**Champion of the Astrals **__and __**Warriors of Light**__..."_

"_NO!" he shouted and waved his right arm in protest. "I won't let you! There another way!"_

_Astraea gazed at him and shook her head, "Sorry, Reno but there is no other way…we must die so that Somnus could take the throne and guide Lucis in the future,"_

"_NO! I will change it…. I will change your fate!" Reno's voice was breaking as his body started to tremble._

_Astraea hugged him, "Oh… Reno… my little phoenix…" she whispered, "I'm sorry but you can't…we can't change our fate..."_

"_No… there must be another way…" Reno hugged her back, "Don't go… Don't leave me, please… Astraea…"_

_"You… I don't have a choice, this path is mine to take alone, I'm sorry Reno, I hope you can forgive me," Astraea choked as she tried not to cry again._

_"No please Astraea don't do this!" he hugged her tightly._

"_I already accepted my fate, so please be supportive and don't do anything stupid or try to stop me,"_

"_But… as your guardian I need to protect you… I must try… I won't let you die..."_

"_That the problem, Reno, you can't change it… and besides, you have been protecting me all my life Reno, this time let me protect you," she cupped his face, "Just me promise me one thing Reno…" he did not answer for he was now crying, she brushed the tears away and smiled again, "After I'm gone please do take care and look after Somnus for me… I know he can be a jerk something so please be patient and be at his side, okay? Can you do that Reno?" he shook his head, "Come on...Reno… I don't want to do this but you left me no choice!" she stepped back._

_Reno was just looking at her, his tears still pouring out, "I Astraea Lucis Izunia, order you Reno…" she paused and stood straight, "I order you to be my brother's keeper after I'm gone! Protect him and don't let anything happen to him and his descendants! This is my last order command!"_

_Reno stopped crying as his marks glowed brightly as he was forced to obey, he went down in one kneel and lowered his head, "As you command, Master, I will protect Somnus with my life as I protected you..." after a moment of silence between them he finally looked up to see Astraea. The Fire Maiden was looking and smiling at him. There is no hint of sadness or fear in her eyes._

"_That good to hear!" she clapped her hands together, "Now I can sleep well knowing the future will be okay," she laughed._

_He stood up and chuckled, "For someone who knows she will die in the future your quite chipper about it,"_

"_But of course, I always look at the bright side of things, after all, I saw Somnus's and this kingdom's future and it's wonderful that is okay for me and I hope it stays that way, after all,_ _**hope **__is comforting. It allows us to accept fate, no matter how tragic it might be.__"_

_He just chuckled knowing he can't defeat her, just like her, he will accept his fate and look towards the future, "So can you tell me about what's going to happen so that I can prepare?" he asked._

"_Nope…"_

"_What? why?_

"_Because I know you Reno… if you know what is going to happen you will try to change it so my answer is_ _**NO**_… _I just need you to support me and you keep your promise okay?" she smiled._

_Reno with no other choice but to accept it, just smiled and bowed his head down, "As you command Princess…"_

"_Glad to hear that Reno," she clapped again, "Now go and find my drawing," Reno grumbled as his marks glowed, She saw this and she giggled, "Come on now be a good little Chocobo and find my sketch of Hope, I'm not finished with it yet…"_

_The guardian just let out a long sigh and jumped into the railing and turned to her master, "Are you going to tell me what's going to happen after I fetch it?"_

"_Still No... " she crossed her arms, "Hurry now, no one should see it, GO now Reno!" she pointed at the direction where her sketch went._

_Reno murmured under his breath, "Bossy..."_

"_I heard that!"Astraea laughed and put her hand on her waist._

_Reno smirked and gave her a two-finger salute, "Be right back princess…" he spread his hands and let his body fall with that memory faded._

**…**

"Wow, Astarea is always positive… If I were in her position, I might not be able to smile and let alone laugh," Dave said as he crossed his arms, "The princess… she is unique,"

"Yeah...she is," Reno chuckled, "Not only that her cheerful and optimistic side is quite contagious,"

"So did she say anything to you Reno, about what was going to happen?"

"No she did not," the guardian shook his head as he glanced at the Founder King, "Your sister is quite stubborn and did not tell me. She was right on her decision for if I knew back then what the future holds I might do stupid things to try change it and ruin our chance to defeat Diabolos,"

"But Diabolos is still alive... so what happened?" Clarus asked.

"Be patient, Clarus, we're getting there…" Reno smirked at him. Clarus just decided to ignore it and talk directly to the Founder King.

"Your Majesty?", he asked, but Somnus did not answer him for the warrior is lost in his thought, "Founder King?"

"Yes…" Somnus turned to him, "Sorry what is your question? Sir Clarus?"

"Please, Your Majesty, call me Clarus…" he bowed.

"Then call me Somnus then,"

"Sorry but I can't do that, Founder King, for I'm a shield, It's my duty to serve the king,"

"Okay then, Clarus…" Somnus sighed "So what is your question?"

"I want to ask what happen after all, and why is the Dark Astral is still alive,"

"Because I failed my calling, Clarus…" the founder king face frowned, "For I failed them both,"

Clarus did have the words to say, he just bowed his head down, "I'm sorry to hear that, Your Majesty…"

"You don't have to apologize for anything Clarus…" he paused and gazed around and turned his attention back at the red-haired guardian to find him sitting crossed-legged on the floor again looking at something. He noticed that Reno was flipping through the pages of an old leather journal, he saw the Izunia crest in the back of it, "It's that Astraea's sketchbook? I thought you lost it?" he asked.

"I did, but I found it one of the Royal tombs,"

"Who's?"

"_Crepera,"_

"You mean Queen Crepera, _The Rouge_?" Regis asked.

"Yup, Crepera Lucia Caelum… she is a very shy and reclusive person, but great queen nevertheless," Reno handed the sketchbook to Somnus.

He took it and gazed at the sketch of the Crepera Lucis Caelum(Oerba Yun Fang FFX13, b-agt). "Astraea is quite good at sketching… I remember her sketches and paintings on the palace's wall."

"Yeah, she is very talented, she even created her very own paint using alchemy…" he snorted, "Remember the dye she created?"

"You mean the hair dye he used to dye Ardyn's hair red?"

"Yes, the very same dye she uses to make your's blue," Reno laughed, "You known blue hair looks good on you to Sommy,"

Somnus just frowned at him, but deep inside he was smiling remembering the time that Astraea dyed their hair. He remembered how Ardyn chased their sister all around the palace to make her return his hair to its brown shade. But Astraea being stubborn as she was she did not and they have to wait two months for the colors to fade. He was disappointed when his hair turned black again after all he did like it. After all, his favorite color is blue. He did not even notice that he was smiling. The people around him just watched him in silence. As a small smile appeared on his lips and a faint chuckle came out. He quickly covered his mouth and gazed around. He saw that they were smiling, he sighed and cleared his throat and strengthened himself.

"You really did enjoy it back then Sommy, should we dye your hair blue again?" Reno asked while smirking at him.

"What…No…" he growled at him.

The guardian just rolled his eyes and laughed, "Suit yourself, Founder King, just let me know I have those dye with me," the warrior just ignored him and crossed his arms.

Reno laughed and grabbed the sketchbook again and flipped through the pages, "Astraea did not just see Somnus's future but she also saw the future of champions of Bahamut," he said as he laid the sketchbook on the desk.

All of them leaned in to see the sketch of someone, a male with black hair tied into a pony at the bottom of the sketch a name and title was placed, "I want to introduce to you… Auron Lucis Caelum, The Warrior" (Auron FF10, (DeviantArt MCashe)). Reno flipped over some of the pages he stopped again, "Angeal Lucis Caelum, The Tall," (Angeal FF7 (BahamutDeusModus)). The guardian continued to flip the pages as he introduced all of Bahamut's champions, the rulers of Yoke. All twelve champions have blue eyes, the sign of being the champion of Bahamut's, "Not only that she even saw you, Your Majesty," he turned towards the king, "And Prince Noctis as well," Before Regis could speak Reno flipped the last page where a sketch of Regis and Noctis was located. Regis was on the left page under his sketch was his name, Regis Lucis Caelum CXIII, The Father. (ArtStation - King of Lucis, Sebastian Dell'Aria ). On the right page was a sketch of Noctis and his name and title Noctis Lucis Caelum CXIV, One True King. (Noctis Lucis Caelum, b-agt )

"So that means, Astraea knew that Diabolos will be back again?" Aerith asked as she grabbed the sketchbook to have a closer look.

"I don't know… maybe…" Reno said as he leaned back and crossed his arms, "Like I said Astraea never did tell me what she saw,"

Aerith then flipped the last page and saw nothing, then she noticed that the back cover was peeling off. She peeled it off and an envelope fell off, "What this? A letter?" Aerith grabbed it and put the journal down. She gazed at the envelope where Somnus and Reno's name was written on it, "Its for you Somnus… Reno," she said and handed the envelope to Somnus.

"A letter? from whom?" Somnus asked as he gazed at the written words '_To Somnus and Reno…'_ He recognized the penmanship, "This is Astraea's handwriting,"

"What! Astraea!" Reno bolted up and went to his side.

"Did you know about this Reno?" The Founder King asked.

"No… Like I said Astraea did not tell me anything! So are you waiting for? open it!"

Somnus did what the guardian asked, he opened the envelope and took letters out, and opened the first one which was addressed to him, "This is for me..." he whispered.

Reno took the other one which addressed to him, "And this is for me, '' he said as he opened the letter more, "A letter from Astraea, her farewell," he said as he gazed at the letter.

Both men stayed silent as they gazed intently at the letter in their hand.

"Can you read it out loud Somnus?" Carbuncle asked, "If you want to…"

The Founder King nodded, "It's okay, but I don't want to read it. Can you read it for me Regis?" he turned towards the king and handed him the letter.

"Me too, Please read my letter too, Your Majesty," Reno handed his letter as well.

"Very well then," Regis grabbed the letters and he gazed around after making sure that everyone was ready to listen and he opened Somnus's letter first and read the letter out loud.

* * *

_Dear Big brother Sommy…_

_If you are reading this it means I have departed this world… this letter is my goodbye to you, brother…_

Regis stopped and glanced at Somnus to see his expression. The Founder King has sadness in his eyes. Somnus glanced at him and nodded at him to continue after clearing his throat he continued to read the letter.

_I know you have a lot of questions to ask. Why I did what I did and why I did not question or even stop our destiny, Ardyn's and I. The answer to the question is… I know you made a pact with Bahamut's you and Ardyn. I know I should have not eavesdropped in your conversation. It was wrong of me to do so but I'm glad I did it. For I knew you two will hide it from me just as you hide what happened in Solheim. But I'm not angry with you, how can I? you're my brothers… I knew you were just doing this to protect me...but that will stop right now… This time I will protect you… I might not be able to save Ardyn's but I will make sure you will have a future, brother… I make sure of it..._

_For 25 years of my life, you have been there for me, taking care of me and saving me always now it's my turn to return the favor. I have been chosen by the Infernian to be his champion and now as his champion, I will do what I must to fulfill my calling... my destiny and save Eos, after all, I can't have you two have all the credit in saving Eos...hehehe just joking… I knew is stupid but I did what I had to do. Just like Ardyn's I need to sacrifice myself to get rid of the starscourge but that victory will bring you loneliness so … please don't lose hope… I know the future will be tragic, you will be all alone, but don't worry we will come back again … after all, we need to see the sunrise together right?_

_I know what I'm saying is difficult to understand but I just want to say that our fight is still not over yet… and our death will not be permanent that I know of… something will happen which I did not see. But I know we will meet again in the future. So for the time being please accept the throne Sommy… be the founder King of Lucis… don't let our hard work go to waste okay?_

_I wanted to say goodbye to you in person big brother, but I can't but so please forgive me Sommy..and remember I love you and proud to be your little sister… and Sommy you will be a great king, that I know of… So please after we are gone don't stop fighting and never lost __**Hope**_ _okay..? And continued to live and guide Lucis is the future and please take care of Lady Ashe… she will be your Queen after all..and please do take care of my nephew for me, Hope… give him a happy life that what I ask you brother... to continue living without us… I love you, brother until we meet again… always remember….You need to have __**COURAGE**_ _to face everything head-on, and at times you are lost don't lose __**HOPE**_ _and always remember_ _**LOVE**_ _is the strongest weapon you have._

_Sincerely,_

_Your little sister… Astraea Lucis Izunia, The Fire Maiden,_

* * *

Regis stopped at the end of the letter. He glanced at the Founder King, "Thank you, Regis," he just nodded and handed the letter to him.

"No..please keep that, keep it safe for the time being," Somnus said as he pushed the letter back.

Regis nodded and put the letter down on the coffee table and opened Reno's letter next. He cleared his throat again before reading it out loud.

* * *

_Dear Reno,_

_My little Chocobo… no, my awesome fiery Phoenix. I wanted to thank you for all you did for me. Even all the stupid things I did you still stood by my side for that I'm grateful that you are my guardian. Reno… the promise you made remember that! Please make sure my brother's descendant will survive for Diabolos will be back again and I saw the future and in that future darkness will come again and plunged Eos into chaos again… but don't worry for one day the __**One True King**_ _from the bloodline of Lucis will be born, he will be __**The King of Light**_ _and with his eternal light, we will be able to kill Diabolos once and for all…for that I will not be afraid to die, for my death will be a step towards that future… Just like me, Ardyn's death is not permanent, we will live again… I don't know how, why, or when… but make sure to prepare for it… so Reno…. I expect you to behave and don't cause any trouble. I will be watching you!_

_I love you Reno until we meet again… always remember….You need to have __**COURAGE**_ _to face everything head-on, and at times you are lost don't lose __**HOPE**_ _and always remember_ _**LOVE**_ _is the strongest weapon you have._

_Sincerely,_

_Astraea Lucis Izunia, The Fire Maiden,_

_P.S. Make sure to pass this prophecy on… okay, Reno...and make sure you will survive, after all, I need my little phoenix in the future… Goodbye again… and LOVE YOU..._

_**When darkness veils the world, The Flame, and the Light will be called once more. The bond that was forgotten will be fulfilled and the call of the Astrals shall be heard.**_

* * *

A long silence filled the air around them. Regis folded the letter and handed it to the guardian. Reno took it and slowly sat down on the floor and his face can't be described, same goes for the Champion of Bahamut, Somnus was thinking of words to say he opened his mouth but closed it again..

_I can't believe it...Astraea really did know about the pact… how did we not notice her back then_, Somnus thought went racing, _after all, I did to her she still worried about me…_

"Somnus?" The Founder King flinched as he felt Carbuncle on his lap "Are you okay? How are you taking this?"

"I bit… confused Cally…" he replied with a low tone, his eyes reflecting his emotions, "Did Astraea know what was going to happen from the very start Reno?" he turned to his side.

The red-haired shook his head, "Don't know...just like you, I'm surprised with her revelation," he opened the letter and read the letter again in silence, "So she really did see the future even with that she still accepted her fate...Astraea is one of kind indeed..." he chuckled to lighten the mood and it worked. The people around him started to relax again, especially the Founder King. He sighed and folded the letter up and put it inside the pocket of his suit, "So Sommy what is this pact with Bahamut, Astraea is talking about?"

The warrior's face felt as he saw all eyes on him, he opened his mouth then closed it again.

"Somnus" Cally whispered his name and looked up to his eyes, "It's okay tell them, Bahamut would not mind it...they have to know why you acted like that back then and why Lord Ardyn became the Adagium,"

Somnus was hesitant at first but looking at the guardian's eyes he sighed and he nodded, "Okay then, but just like everything you saw and heard today, you need to keep this a secret, our future lies on this, can I count on everyone?" he gazed around.

All nodded and bowed their heads.

"As you command, Founder King," they all answered in unison.

"Okay then, we made a pact with Bahamut's because of Astarea."

"Astraea?" Reno questioned.

"Yes, remember the night when you told us about the effect of the Flame of purification on her, that she was dying?" the guardian nodded, "Two days after that, I still could not accept it so I decided to talk to Bahamut to ask him something, but when I arrived at the throne room, I found out that I'm not the only one who's trying to save Astarea. I found Ardyn and together we talk to Bahamut,"

**...**

_Somnus was walking silently throughout the hallway and when he arrived at the throne room he saw Ardyn standing at the end of the stairs leading up to the throne._

"_Brother?" he called out to him._

_Ardyn turned to him, "Oh.. why are you still awake?" he asked._

"_I could not sleep, I'm worried about Astraea, how about you?" he stopped beside his brother and looked up to Bahamut's crystal._

"_Same…" Ardyn sighed, "I visited her chamber just to find her asleep again. The flame of Purification is making her very weak and it took us four years to even notice it. We call ourselves her big brother... mother, and father will be disappointed with us," Ardyn let out a sad chuckle, Somnus did not move or even talk, he lets his brother continue, "We need to do something Somnus… we need to help her. We can't let what happened to Solheim too happen here," The Healer turned to him._

"_I'm going to talk to Bahamut, I will ask him to take his blessing away and give Astraea the life she lost."_

"_Do you think that will work? Bahamut won't even talk to us and we are his champion,"_

"_We need to try," The Healer then turned towards the crystal, "Cally!"_

_Their guardian appeared before them, "You call Lord Ardyn, Lord Somnus," she bowed to them._

"_Cally, haven't we told you to stop calling us Lord, you can call us by our names," Somnus said as he gazed down, "Follow Reno, after all, we are family,"_

"_Okay then… Somnus…" she turned to the older sibling, "Ardyn, how can I help you?"_

_Ardyn crouched down and patted her on the head, "We want to talk to Bahamut, can you make it possible, Cally?"_

"_Why do you want to talk to my Master? Is it because of Astraea?"Both brothers nodded, she nodded in response, "Very well then, I take you to him follow me" she went up the stairs and the warriors followed. She jumped on the throne and turned to them, "Are you ready?" she asked both brothers nodded, "Well then let us go," her horn glowed together with the Light Crystal then a bright light surrounded them, both warriors closed their eyes shut and went then opened it again, there in the Astral realm. Floating before them was the leader of the Astrals, Bahamut, The Draconian. (The same size in Episode Ardyn) His wings spread wide and two red capes floating in the air. Both brothers took a knee and bowed their heads._

"_Rise my champions," Bahamut ordered, his deep voice echoing around them._

_The Healer and the Mystic rose up and looked up to him with a deep breath, Ardyn took a step forward, "Greeting... oh benevolent Draconian, The Bladekeeper," Ardyn greeted the Astral with confidence as he bowed his head and rose up, "Thank you for giving us chance and being in our presence dear, Astral," Somnus could see that Ardyn's body was slightly shaking, same goes for him. After all, this is their second meeting, the last time they saw Bahamut is when the Bladekeeper gave his blessing to them which was four years ago and the presence of the Astral is quite overwhelming._

"_Why do thy seek my presence? Healer of the People," Bahamut asked._

_Ardyn gulped and took a deep breath again, "We are here to seek you help Bahamut," he glanced back at his brother, "Me and my brother,"_

_With that Somnus took a step forward and copied what Ardyn did a minute ago and greeted the Astral with a bow. When he raised his head up he met eyes with the Astral. Just like him Bahamut's has deep blues eyes, he just lowers his gaze before speaking, "We are here to ask and seek your help for our sister, Astraea, dear Astral,"_

"_What help do thee seek?" Bahamut asked again with the same deep tone, "What can I do to help the Fire Maiden,"_

"_Is there something you can do to stop her life from fading or better yet take your blessing away?" Ardyn asked._

"_My blessing can't be taken or returned, Ardyn Lucis Caelum. The Fire Maiden had accepted my blessing knowing the consequences. With my light and The Infernian's flames, you are able to cast and keep the darkness at bay, do you want me to take that away?"_

"_Yes...I mean no…" Ardyn stammered, "What I meant... Your light has been a great help, Draconian, but our sister is dying, we want to seek your help. Can you do something to lessen the effect of your blessing?"_

"_Sorry, but I cannot," Bahamut replied, "My blessing is not the only one that causing the Fire Maiden's life to fade. The Infernian's flame is affecting her as well,"_

"_We knew about that, Bahamut," Somnus raise his voice and stepped forward, he saw his brother trying to stop him but he did not stop and continued, "If you can't help Astraea then help us in this battle,"_

"_I already gave my blessing to you, Mystic, what else do thy seek?" Bahamut asked, his voice a little irritated._

_Somnus suddenly heard the Whispers deep inside his head,_

_**He does want to help you…**_

_**Bahamut is just going to let your sister die…**_

_**Don't listen to him, he is just using you…**_

_With that Somnus snapped_ "_How about helping us in battle! Don't just stand here, go down in Eos, and help us to destroy Diabolos and his darkness!"_

"_SOMNUS!" Ardyn grabbed his forearm and yanked him back, "Are you insane! don't talk to the Draconian that way," he lectured him._

_Somnus just glared at him inside his head. The whispers are urging him to kill his brother and Bahamut. Inside his mind, Somnus was fighting with the whispers. "Somnus!" his brother's voice pierced through the whispering. The mystic was able to be in control and the whispers voices faded, he gazed at his brother, "Are you alright?"_

_The Mystic just nodded, he turned to Bahamut and bowed his head, "My sincere apology, Draconian, I don't know what had gotten into me,"_

_Bahamut just stayed silent as he eyed him, suddenly Bahamut summoned his sword and pierced their hearts. Both went down on their knees and clutched their hearts as they screamed, suddenly Whispers came out from their body and scattered around them. Bahamut's wing's lit up and separated from his body and circled him for a moment then the swords went flying seeking the whispers and killing them. As Bahamut's sword eradicated the whispers around them, both brothers helped each other on their feet. As the last whispers were killed, the swords went and returned to Bahamut's back. The Astral then spread his wings again, his wings are composed of 15 swords for each side and the two red capes encircled around them and he eyed the champion again and spoke._

"_Thee should not listen to the chaos inside of you dear Champions or you will fall into darkness and be lost forever,"_

"_Thanks for the advice, Bahamut," Ardyn jokingly laughed as he clutched his heart as the pain was still there then looked at Somnus still in pain, "Are you okay?"_

_The Founder King nodded, "Yes, are you?"_

_Ardyn just smiled, "Yup, but it still hurt….I will never complain about Astraea's flames ever again," they both chuckled._

_Bahamut just gazed at the two brothers waiting for them to stop and acknowledge him again. After a few moments, the brothers stopped laughing and straightened themselves._

"_Thank you, Bahamut for purifying us," Somnus bowed his head, "I apologies for the words I said earlier,"_

"_You don't have to apologize, Mystic. I been absent and let you fight the darkness alone, For I had been busy trying to seal Diabolos's spirit back into the dark realm, That made me weak and I can't appear and fight beside you in Eos "_

_Both brother's eyes glanced at each other and looked back at the Astral._

"_Why not kill Diabolos instead of locking him up," Ardyn asked._

_Did the messengers not tell you why?" both warriors shook their heads._

"_Very then I will tell you why and why did I pick you to be my champions,"_

_Bahamut explained to them that all Astrals have equal strength can't kill each other. Yes, they're each other weakness but they can only wound each other not kill. Not only that Diabolos the God of Darkness was also the same straight as Bahamut's being the counterpart of Light. In the first War of the Astral, they are able to destroy Diabolos's body and not his spirit so they decided to seal him back on his realm. But it does not last long, Diabolos spirit was able to get out and created his daemons yet again not only that he was corrupted the minds of the people of __**Elheim **__and rage war and Solheim got destroyed in the process. After the Second War of The Astrals, all Astrals were weakened as their crystals were destroyed and have to go to slumber. Except for him, he continued to fight Diabolos in the __**dark realm. **__He was able to defeat him and sealed Diabolos's spirit for a time being but it greatly affected him it weakened him too and that the reason why is be absent for a long time._

"_So if you can't kill the Dark Messenger, then who can?" Ardyn asked._

"_Thy can… both of you…" Bahamut eyed the two warriors, "As my champions, thou have my light in within you with that you kill Diabolos once is for all,"_

"_But you said Diabolos is just spirit, how can we kill a spirit?" Somnus asked._

_Bahamut did not answer them and stayed silent for a while. Somnus was waiting patiently then he heard his brother whisper, "That's the reason why you choose the two for us… and why you have given me the ability to absorb the starscourge…" Ardyn turned to him, the Mystic can see the sadness and fears in his brother's eyes that's when it dawned on him, the realization of what his brother is telling._

"_Wait don't tell me…" Somnus murmured._

"_Your right, Healer of the People," both brothers turned towards the Astral, "To kill the God of Darkness...one must be a sacrifice. One must give his body to Dark Astral to take it as his own, with that the other can kill him and end his dark reign forever. If you want to save you sister and Eos thy need to fulfill thy fate,"_

"_What! A sacrifice! We can't do that Bahamut! We came here to save our sister! now you're telling us that in order to save her, we have to kill the Dark Messenger by sacrificing the other; we can't accept that! " Somnus shouted._

"_Somnus…" Ardyn called to his brother with a calm tone. He turned to him, The Healer's face was calm, Ardyn gave him a loving smile, "Remember what I told you when we were little?" the younger brother just shook his head, Ardyn chuckled sadly, "Then let me ask you again… "__Do you know why the big brother is born first?"_ _The Founder King stayed silent, his brother just continued to smile at him, "__It's to protect the little brothers and sisters that come after him__._ _So that means I need to do this, Somnus."_

"_WHAT NO! You can't,"_

"_No... I need to, we can't just keep fighting forever Somnus, we need to end it,"_

"_But brother…" Somnus's voice started to break, "What about Astraea, she won't want this, she will be devastated."_

_Ardyn just sighed patted him on the shoulder, "Everything will be okay, Somnus. We just need to hide it from her and besides like her I'm just doing what I meant to do, to fulfill my calling is the sole purpose of being a Champion of Bahamut and Warrior of Light," Ardyn gave him a genuine smile as he remained silent. The Healer then turned towards the bladekeeper, "Bahamut, what must I have to do to fulfill this calling?" he bowed towards the Astral._

"_To draw out Diabolos from the darkness, thou must gather all the darkness and be his vessel. With the help of the crystal, the Warrior Of Light will be able to slain the Dark Astral and his darkness will be vanquished forever,"_

"_Heard that Sommy? You have the chance to be the hero… you have the honor to kill Diabolos," Ardyn turned to him smiling._

"_This is not a laughing matter Ardyn! I will not accept it," Somnus waved his hands in protest and turned to Bahamut, "There must be another way… A way which does not involve someone dying!"_

"_There is no other way, Mystic. If you let Diabolos scatter his influences, and his darkness throughout Eos there is no telling how strong he can be, if he is able to regain his physical body then it will be over. Darkness shall reign and Eos shall never see the light again, all life will be extinguished and there shall be nothing left but darkness, It's that what thou want, Mythic?"_

_Somnus was taken aback by the Draconian words, he could not speak the same with Ardyn and both waited in silence for the Astral to speak again._

_Bahamut floated near them and spread his wings wider, "This is thy sole purpose why I have chosen the two of you to be my warriors. One must sacrifice and the other will rise up to the throne and spread the light throughout Eos and only one will survive and continue to be champion of Light! What say thee champions, do you accept thy fate? Lucis Caelum?"_

_Somnus wanted to protest, he stepped forwards ready to speak but he felt Ardyn's hand on his shoulder he turned to see Ardyn was shaking his head, "Do it for me, Somnus… do it for Astraea... for Eos…" he just closed his mouth and back away. His brother then took a step forward and bowed._

"_I accept thy calling, Bahamut, Leader of the Astrals, I will be the vessel of Darkness, and I will sacrifice my body and my life to defeat Diabolos once and for all," Ardyn eyes glanced at the founder king._

_Somnus just glared at Ardyn but his brother just kept looking at him with pleading eyes. He tightened his hands into a fist with remorse in his heart he slowly bowed as well, "Me too, Oh Great Draconian, I accept thy calling, for Eos and everyone safety, I will eliminate the darkness, and continue the path to the light,"_

"_Very well then, go now champions… fulfill thy calling, went the crystal's light up that the time for thy purpose to be fulfilled, go now and continue thy fight and never fall into darkness,"_

_Both warriors raised their heads only to be met by blinding light which forced them to close them. When they opened their eyes they were back at the throne room._

"_Welcome back Ardyn and Somnus," Carbuncle greeted them with a soft voice. They both looked down at her. The expression on her face told them that she knew what happened and the pact they made with Bahamut, "Thank you, Cally," Ardyn patted her on the head, "Can you please not say this to anyone especially to our sister?"_

"_I promise, Ardyn…"_

"_Well okay then, that settles it, Astraea will be saved and Eos as well" Ardyn clapped his hands together, "I'm counting on Somnus, don't let me down," he whacked Somnus on the back, the Founder King stumbled a bit and then glared at him, the Healers just chuckled and went down the stairs, "Good night little brother," he waved his hand as he walked down the stair._

"_Wait Ardyn!" Cally jumped to Somnus's shoulder as he followed his brother. When both reach the center of the throne room where Astraea's flames are the brightest. The Mystic grabbed the Healer's shoulder and yanked him back._

"_WHY DID YOU DO THAT!"_

"_Do what?" Ardyn asked, tilting his head still smiling at him._

"_Why did you accept your fate without thinking!"_

"_You accepted yours too,"_

"_Because I don't have the choice and you force me too!"_

"_Why did not protest then," Ardyn asked with a smile._

"_I tried to remember?! But you keep insisting on it! Do you think I can fulfill my calling? do you think I can kill you?!"_

"_Why not? Ardyn chuckled, "Three years ago you tried to kill me, so why back out now? Besides your not going to kill me… you're going to kill Diablos in my body. Now we have you have the chance to end it, Somnus, so don't hold back and give it your all, Little brother" he laughed._

"_It's not funny BROTHER!" Somnus's grip tightened around Ardyn's shoulder, "I can't do that… I can't kill you...please don't force me too," he leaned his forehead onto The Healer's shoulder._

"_There...there my little Sommy," Ardyn cooed as he patted him on the back, "It will be okay, I know you can do this, you need to… do this for Eos and our sister…. For Astraea… give her a life she deserves, a life without conflict and sadness. You both deserve to be happy after all we have been through,"_

_Somnus stepped back, "What about you? Your future with Aera? what would she say,"_

"_Aera will be okay, I knew she will support me on this,"_

"_But you deserve a happy life to brother? Are you willing to give that up?"_

"_For you?... yes… to save Eos and give you and Astraea a future you deserve. I will sacrifice my life for the future."_

"_But…"_

"_No..but… Sommy, I'm your big brother you have to do what I say and I order you to accept your fate and fulfill your calling." Ardyn patted him on his right shoulder._

"_What would Astraea say? Do you think she will accept that?"_

"_Yes, I sure she will, just like her I will do everything I can to save everyone. So I know she will understand,"_

"_Do you think she will forgive you..and me? I have to kill you. Do you think she will forgive me for killing you! after all your her favorite,"_

_His brother just sighed, "Yes, she will, I sure of that, just gave it time… Sommy or give her favorite Ulwaat Berries with that I know she will forgive you," he smiled at him._

"_How can you still smile brother? Knowing what the future holds?"_

_Ardyn just put his other hand on Somnus's left shoulder and gripped it tightly, "Like Astraea, we need to be positive and look towards the future with hope, Somnus… so please do this… so that we can end this fight once and for all,"_

_The Founder King shook his head, "You really are weird… but if you must… I won't let you do this alone. I will fulfill my calling and kill Diabolos,"_

"_That means you will be king" Ardyn chuckled, "All hail __**The Founder King**__! Somnus Lucis Caelum!" his brother stepped back and bowed down._

_Somnus glared at the sight of it "You be the __**Adagium, **__vessel of darkness,"_

_Ardyn rose up, "Oh come on... Sommy you can't come up with a better name? how about __**The Accursed**__?"_

_Somnus just gazed at him and shook his head, "How can we explain this to Astraea, to our people,"_

"_We don't… we don't tell them about it, especially Astraea. If our sister will know about this and how Bahamut might have forced us to do it... total chaos will break loose."_

"_Yeah… I'm picturing it right now, Astraea going to the Astral realm to fight Bahamut," The Founder King gazed at the crystal._

"_Yup, let us not let that happen," Ardyn went beside him, the three of them, The champions of Bahamut and the Messenger gazed at the shining Crystal on top of the empty throne in silence. "Fulfill your calling, Somnus and I will fulfill mine" he whispered before Somnus could reply they heard the door open, they all turned around to see Astraea at the door._

"_Astraea!" Ardyn called out her name in surprise, "How long have you been there?"_

"_Just now... why?" she answered as she walked towards them._

'_That great, she did not hear us,' Somnus thought._

"_Nothing… So why are you doing here then Astraea?" their older brother asked again._

"_I just woke up to drink some water and can't come back to sleep so I decided to play chess with both of you. I went to your chambers to find it empty. I thought you two went hunting without me," she gazed both at their eyes._

_Ardyn just smiled, "We never do that,"_

"_Why are you here then? Did something happen? Did Bahamut talk to you?" her eyes went past them and gazed at the Crystal of Light._

"_No nothing happened, just like you… we can't sleep," Somnus answered in a calm tone but his voice cracked on the last word._

_Astraea raised an eyebrow at him. Ardyn saw this and went between them, "Yup, Somnus is right, we can't sleep and decided to walk and patrol the place ground. Right sommy?"_

"_Right,"_

_Astraea just eyed them studying their faces, she gazed at the crystal and back to them and back at the crystal. "Okay then, let me go on patrol with you then! Come on Cally let's wake Reno up!" she said and started to walk away. The fox guardian jumped in her shoulder._

_Both brothers looked at each other and sighed and followed their sister out of the room. Somnus was last to leave before he closed the door he glanced up one last time at the crystal before closing the door. The sphere turned off and silence filled the chamber yet again._

_**...**_

"You did not feel her presence back then Somnus?" Reno asked.

"No, both of us were oblivious that she was there. After all, we both were shocked by what happened. Ardyn might be acting that he is okay back then but I knew he was just hiding his true feelings he was always like that… giving his all for the one he loved. I was too busy thinking about our future. I never did give a second thought about Astraea back then,"

"Well according to her letter she did eavesdrop so she must hear you two arguing," the red-haired said while opening the Somnu's letter once again. "I don't blame you for not knowing she there, after all, Astraea was the skill of making her presence unknown,"

"Now I know why she decided to follow her fate, like Ardyn they both dare to face their fate even how awful that might be, they are really the Warriors of light, unlike me.."

"Don't say that Somnus," Cally said, "You did what you had to do, you followed your fate just like them. You fought so hard and already suffered enough so please don't belittle yourself, Founder King,"

"Cally is right Somnus, both of your siblings won't want this, just like them, look at the positive side and smile,"

Somnus laughed, "Your right… thank you Reno and Cally,"

"Your Welcome, Sommy, after all, we are family," Reno said while smiling at him.

"We are always here Master, always remember that," Carbuncle smiled at him.

The champion smiled back, "Okay then...Let us continued then,"

All nodded at the founder king.

"After that day, Ardyn and I acted normal until the day he was consumed by the Whispers inside of him, was kicked from the Palace by me,"

"Now… I feel bad treating Ardyn back then," Reno lowered his head, "He was just following his destiny. Now I understand why Astraea is so worried about her brother for she knew it's not Ardyn's fault that the whispers are taking over him, she knew what was going to happen. Maybe that the reason why she wanted to spend the last remaining days with her family before all of you have to answer your calling,"

"I kept denying her that…"

"So if you know what's happening to Lord Ardyn back then, Somnus, why did you act like that? Why do you want to kill him before he can fulfill his calling?" Regis asked.

The Founder King sighed and gazed at his hands, "For I have fallen into darkness, I let the whispers cloud my judgment for me to forget our pack with Bahamut and the promise we made Ardyn and I, that we will fulfill our calling together to save our sister and to save Eos…"

"So that's the reason why Lord Ardyn left the Palace and continued healing, he just doing his calling, Am I right, Founder King?"

"Yes he did," The founder answered at the shield, "And Astraea is trying to help me stayed on the right path and I should have listened to her, but instead I let the whispers take me and I did terrible things, to my siblings and my people,"

"But it's not your fault Somnus is that damn Whispers inside of you," Reno snarled.

"I know... but still… I should not have I listened to them because of that Ardyn was able to hurt Astraea yet again,"

"What! What happened? I thought Astraea was safe in the Palace," Regis asked.

"Well back then, I let the barrier down and let her go outside the palace, but I never did imagine that she would go outside the kingdom with the help of The Oracle they found our brother. Will, you do the honor Reno,"

"Well, it's now actually an honor Somnus but still sure, let us take a stroke in memory yet again, maybe this time it will be a happy one," Reno sarcastically said as the sphere showed his memory.

**…**

_Reno was behind Astraea, there was inside a ruined tower a huge waterfall in front of them. They were waiting for the Oracle to come back. The princess was seated on the edge of the platform, her feet dangling on the edge. She was humming sadly her guardian just stayed silent behind her. A minute past Reno sighed and took a step forward before he could open his mouth, The Princess started to sing. (HD 1080p ~Yeul's Theme~ Final Fantasy 13-2 *LYRICS ON SCREEN*). In the middle of her songs, Astraea started to cry but she still kept on singing._

_**...**_

"Astraea was really strong to be able to accept her fate with open arms, but deep inside she was scared," Reno whispered while listening to his master song, "Back then she did not even say it or show that but her song says otherwise. I wanted to comfort her but I decided to just watch her and let her finish her song… the last song she ever sang… before fate came and took her away..."

The people around him did not respond to his remark and just continued to watch his memory in silence...

**…**

_This burden I must bear alone_

_For many lives and more to come..._

_My loneliness is worth the price..._

_I'll protect you with my life_

_I'll protect you with my life_

**…**

_After singing Astraea wiped away her tears, "Reno… my time is coming to an end…"_

_The guardian remained silent, she turned to him, tears still falling, "After I died, I want you to promise me one thing,"_

"_What is it, Princess," Reno took a knee and caressed her face, "I will do it, order me..."_

_The Fire Maiden chuckled sadly and took his hand away and held it with both hands, "It's, not an order Reno.. but I wish..."_

"_Tell me what… I made sure to do it,"_

_The princess just smiled, "After I'm gone… if ever Ifrit will choose another champion… please don't forget about me..." she let go of his hands and reached for his face and cupped it and gently brushed his marks. "Can you promise me that Reno?" she asked with a smile but she can't stop her tears from falling._

_Reno's tears started to fall too, he sniffed and smiled, "You needn't worry, Even if others forget your name… I always remember you… Astraea Lucis Izunia," he leaned his forehead to her, "I will always be your guardian forever Fire Maiden…"_

"_Thank you, Reno… and I love you…" she hugged him._

"_I love you too… Astraea…" he returned the hug._

**…**

The memory stopped abruptly as Reno stood up, "Well that enough seating for now… I need to stretch for a while," he stretched his arms up and bent his body side to side. All were surprised by his action but not Somnus. The Founder king knew Reno was just trying to hide his tears from them. The guardian saw how the Founder King was looking at him, he just averted his eyes and gazed down, "Wait here I will visit the princess to make sure she is okay," before anyone could speak he disappeared in the flash of red light.

"Reno is really affected by this," Aerith said as she gazed at the paused video of Astraea and Reno hugging.

"Of course…" Carbuncle said, "We guardians have a strong share connection with our master, which is why Reno is acting like this… as guardian is pained us to see our master crying or being hurt,"

"Share connection?" Aerith asked.

"Champions and Guardians have both a physical and emotional connection. It's our blessing and our curse… that is our calling as guardians of the Warriors Of Light. To share our master's feelings and go through everything with them… Reno wanted to share Astraea's pain... to die with her but he can't; instead, he was forced just to stand back and watch. It's very painful as if he is going to die,"

"Did you feel the same when Ardyn died, Cally?" Somnus asked.

Carbuncle lowered her head, "Yes, it's very painful as if my heart breaking into two… now we are going through that painful moment yet again, remembering the painful past... all of us wish to forget,"

"Sorry if you have to go through this again Cally," her former master patted on the head.

"It's okay Somnus, I know it is painful for you too, so let us take a rest for a moment and just wait for Reno to return."

Everyone nodded and then lowered their heads and remained silent as they waited for the guardian to return

**…**

Reno appeared in Astraea chamber he leaned in one of the Bedposts near the fire maiden and let his tears fall. After a while, he was able to regain his composure and wiped his tears away. He then walked towards his master and sat on her bedside, he gently brushed her bangs away, "I have fulfilled my promise Astraea I did not forget about you, now I'm gonna protect you, I will never let anything happened to you, That I promise," he leaned in kiss her on the forehead. Astraea stirred for a bit and whispered something.

"Reno…. Go and get me Ulwaat berries please..."

He chuckled, _Even in your dreams you're still ordering me..._ He said to himself, suddenly Carbuncle appeared beside him.

"Are you okay Reno? Somnus and others are waiting,"

"I'm perfect Cally," he stood up and flipped his ponytail with his left hand, "Let's go duty calls"

Carbuncle just shook her head and jumped on his shoulder with a flash of both red and blue light, they returned towards the king's chamber.

"Sorry to keep all of you waiting… The Phoenix was returned... so where are we?" Reno asked with a joyful expression as Carbuncle jumped down on the coffee table.

"Are you okay Reno?"

"Me?" he turned towards Somnus, "Yes… never better? How about you?"

"I'm fine…"

Reno clapped, "Glad to hear that! so let us continued this Founder King, so that we can finally sleep,"

The warrior just sighed and shook his head, "You're just like her… Reno…"

"What?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, "What are you talking about Sommy?"

"Nothing... just continued your memory,"

The guardian just shrugged his shoulders and sat back down on the floor, "Okay… let us continue… What I'm about to show your is last time all Warriors Of Light came together before that fateful day of the death of Ardyn, The Healer of the People and Astraea the Fire Maiden,"

* * *

_**A/N: **_Reno's promise ("_You needn't worry, Even if others forget your name… I always remember_.) It is taken from Aera's dialogue from Final Fantasy XV: Episode Ardyn - Prologue. I just edit the scene and changed the characters involved and this promise will play a big role in the future so stay tuned.

THANK YOU! I hope you enjoy this and have a wonderful day and keep safe!✩


	26. Chapter 24

**A/N:** Warning: Graphic depictions of violence and character death.

* * *

**Recalling of The Past: The Eternal Flames And The Fire Maiden  
**"_No matter how dark the night, morning always comes, and our journey begins anew" -Lulu (Final Fantasy X_

* * *

_After a few seconds, both master and guardian broke their embrace. Reno wiped Astraea tears away and smiled at her, "Haven't I told you I hate to see you crying?" he asked._

"_No," Astraea shook her head, "But now I knew, so I promise I won't cry again…"_

"_Can you promise you won't die instead?" he chuckled._

_She shook her head again, "Sorry can't do that, my destiny is now set in stone, Reno. nobody can change it,"_

"_Worth a try," he winked and stood and held his hand to her. She took it and rose to her feet, "So how long do we need to wait here?"_

"_Don't know... Aera said this is their meeting place hers and Ardyn's. She might be searching for him now,"_

_Before Reno could speak they heard footsteps heading towards them. They both looked at the entrance to see Ardyn and Aera stepping out from the darkness._

"_BROTHER!" Astraea ran towards the couple but Reno stepped forward and blocked her path._

"_Reno!"_

_The guardian's eyes narrowed at Ardyn's who stopped in his tracks as he saw them._

"_You should have not brought me here Aera, I should go," Ardyn hurriedly said as he turned around._

"_Wait! Brother, please don't go!" Astraea pleaded while Reno kept on blocking her way._

"_Astraea is dangerous… we need to take precauti -"_

"_Stand aside!" she shouted at him, "Let me through RENO!" his marks glowed and he stood aside. While her master took a step forward, "Please Ardyn, let us talk, I miss you brother…"_

_Ardyn stopped and turned around, "Astraea...I can't… I'm afraid I will hurt you again..." he said in a low voice._

_Suddenly Astraea summoned several fireballs and it hovered around them, "There we are safe! The whispers won't be able to come out and take you… please brother... I want to talk,"_

_Ardyn looked at Aera, she nodded, "Go ahead… my love…Astraea has been waiting for months for this" He then looked at Reno, who was still eyeing him and then at Astraea who's now on the brink of crying. With a deep breath, he started to walk towards his sister._

_Astraea started to walk towards her brother followed by Reno who's just a few feet away they met half-way. Before Ardyn could talk The Fire Maiden gave him a good punch on the stomach. The Healer went down on his knee and arms, gasping for air, "Why did you do that!"_

"_Do what? hurt you? Ardyn asked as he rose to his feet._

"_No, why did you leave the place and did not come back!"_

"_Oh that… I'm scared that I might hurt you or Somnus. So I decided to be away from you, Please understand Astraea, I'm doing this to protect all of you," he stood up._

_Astraea did not speak, she just hugged Ardyn tightly. The older brother was hesitant at first but returned the hug._

"_I miss you…" she whispered._

"_I miss you too, Astra…"_

"_Please come back... The Palace is not complete without you… brother,"_

"_Sorry, but I can't do that…Stay with Somnus he will protect you,"_

"_But I do need protection! What I want is our family to be complete! Are you going to come back or not!"_

_He chuckled, "What will you do if I still refuse?" he asked._

"_I will knock you out and drag you back to the palace!"_

"_Really? _

"_Don't tempt me Ardyn. I will do it," Astraea said as she reached for her rapier._

"_Woah...that won't be necessary!" he stopped her and held both of her hands._

"_So are you going back home?" she asked._

_Ardyn sighed, "Sorry Astraea but I can't not, I have people to heal and as I said it too dangerous I might hurt you again, so please let me be,"_

_Astraea withdrew hands away and glared at him, "Fine! But take this with you!" she reached for her belt and unclipped the blue sheath of one of her daggers, "Take this with you," she handed him the sapphire dagger, "Take shiva with you,"_

"_Shiva?" he chuckled, "You named them after the Astrals? So that means the red one is Ifrit?" he asked while eyeing at the small red sheath on her belt. _

"_Yes, why is it a bad thing to use the name of the Astrals?" she unsheathed the ruby dagger, _

_He laughed, "No it's perfect, but I prefer the Ifrit, Astraea,"_

_What NO!" she hugged the red dagger, "This is my favorite and beside your sword is already red so take the blue one,"_

_He smiled, "Are you sure?"_

"_Yes, so that you have a reason to come back home! You have to return it to me, brother," she sheathed the red dagger and gazed at him._

"_Fine, I will take this and return it to you someday…" Ardyn said as he added the dagger on his Armiger._

"_Are you okay Brother? Look at your robe is torn and dirty!" she said as she stepped back, and examined the dirty robe The Healer was wearing "You don't want to go home? You have been out here for 6 months now!"_

"_I'm okay, the people are very helpful and giving me shelter and food so don't worry about me, go home now. Somnus will be angry again and maybe he will lock you up again,"_

"_So you knew about that!" she pointed a finger at him, "Why did you save me and took me away?"_

"_Well, I'm not your knight in shining armor," he ruffled her hair, "Beside Somnus just did that to protect you. That is what I'm doing right now, I'm protecting our family,"_

_She sighed and hugged him again, "I know, I just angry at myself I could not help you,"_

"_Don't be… it's my duty as your big brother to protect you so please go back home, before nightfall," he hugged her._

"_Alright... I followed you for now… but if my flames of purification are back I will help you right away!" she stepped back._

"_I'm counting on it, my Little Fire Maiden," he ruffled her hair again, she pouted and whacked his hand away he chuckled as Astraea glared at him._

"_Oh...by the way… Ardyn here…" she grabbed something out from her saddlebag, "While Somnus locked me up, I started to learn how to weave so here, take this, it will help you in during the cold nights," she handed him a red scarf._

"_Thank you…" he took it and examined the pattern and how the fabric feels, "How long have you been working on it," he rubbed the fabric, "It's rough and ugly...Astra,"_

"_UGLY! she bellowed "I work on that for three days! If you don't want it, give back to me!" she shouted as she reached for the scarf._

"_No!" I'm kidding," He tipped toe and rise the scarf up out from her reach, "I Love it, It's perfect Astra-"_

_The Fire Maiden punched him on the stomach. He dropped to his knees and the scarf felt out his hand. Astraea grabbed it and went toward the edge of the platform. "If you don't want it, I will just throw it away then!"_

"_No! I'm just joking it's beautiful... Please give that to me," he rose to his feet and pleaded, "Come on, little sister, you work hard for it, don't waste it and beside red is my favorite color," he smiled at her. _

_Astraea just smiled back and threw the scarf back, "Next time It will be perfect! So please if you are done healing, go back to the home and let us be a family again." she smiled._

_Ardyn nodded and returned the smile, "I promise…" _

_**...**_

"Ardyn and Astraea are really close," Dave said.

The memory paused as Reno answered him, "Yes they are... even with their huge age gap. They are still very close," Somnus let out a sigh, the guardian heard it and he grinned to him, "Jealous Founder King?"

"Yes… I'm," he said in a toneless voice.

Reno's face dropped, "Oh… sorry about that I'm just joking...but you and Astraea did have something special too,"

"And what is that?" Somnus asked.

"You both loved hunting and sleeping," he smiled at him, "So don't be jealous of Ardyn. Astraea loved you equally."

"I knew that… I just regretted all the bad things I did to her back then,"

"Don't worry Somnus, Astraea will understand, after all, you did all of that because it's your calling as The Champion of Bahamut and you only did that to protect her, she will forgive you, just you wait…"

The Founder King nodded, "I hope you right Reno… he gazed at the paused video, and sighed again, "Go ahead Reno, continue,"

Reno gazed around the room, all nodded at him so with the snapped of his fingers, his memory continued.

**...**

_After standing upright Ardyn started to wrap the scarf around his neck, "What do you think?" he asked._

_Astraea giggled, "It's not very nice… it will go better on your white healer's cloak rather than that dirty robe you are wearing right now,"_

"_Well if Somnus will let me inside the palace I could go and fetch it,"_

"_Or I can go fetch it myself or put the whole Palace to sleep, just tell me... I do it,"_

_Ardyn chuckled, "No don't to that, Somnus will be furious at you. He might imprison you this time in the dungeon."_

"_Let him try and all hell will break loose! I just tolerated him back then…if he tried that again then this Fire Maiden will set her flames loose," she put her hands off her waist._

_Ardyn gazed at her wide eyes. She gazed back with unblinking eyes, then they both burst out laughing. Reno and Aera, who are standing near the entrance side by side gazed at each other and smiled._

"_So you're not going home with me today?" she asked again, "Please Ardyn go home, that is my only request,"_

_Before Ardyn could answer they heard a familiar voice come out from the entrance._

"_Are you not going to fulfill her request, brother?"_

_Ardyn turned around to see Somnus with Gilgamesh._

"_Somnus…" Astraea eyes winded as she went behind Ardyn._

_The Founder king saw this and slowly walked towards them. "I mean no harm… Just like you Astraea, I came here to ask our brother to go home,"_

_**...**_

"What made you change your mind Somnus?" Regis asked.

Somnus just lowered his gaze and clutched his hands together, "The promise we made... Me and Ardyn in the throne room I have remembered it that day. So I decided to act accordingly and help him and just like Astraea… I did want our family together again… but Diabolos have a different plan for us."

"Yeah… the attack was unexpected, Even though I did not feel his daemons, Reno crossed his arms as his memory continued.

_**... **_

"_Really?" she asked as she stepped away from her brother._

"_Yes… if Ardyn will forgive me in what I have done…"_

_Astraea then looked at Ardyn, The Healer sighed, "There is nothing to forgive, Somnus. Are you sure you want me back?" _

"_Of course for Astraea... let us be family again," Somnus held his right hand towards his siblings._

_Ardyn reluctantly reached for it, suddenly Atraea's flames around them died down and were replaced by purple flames. The Healer went down on his knee shouting in pain._

"_Brother!" both siblings shouted._

"_Get Away!" he shouted, trying to be in control._

_Before Astraea could run to her fallen brother, a huge Arachne burst out behind the giant waterfall behind her and wrapped its legs around her body and dragged her down the waterfall._

"_ASTRAEA!" Reno shouted his wings burst out from his back and went flying towards her. He dove down the waterfall._

"_Reno!" Astraea shouted as she reached her right hand towards him._

"_Astra!" Reno reached back and was able to get hold of her fingers. They impacted the water below with that his memory went black._

…

Aerith gasped as the sphere turned off, "Dear Astrals! was Astraea alright that daemon came out of nowhere!"

Reno sighed and crossed his arms, "Yes, she was alright I was able to rescue and get out of there safely,"

"And Lord Ardyn what happened to him?" she asked again.

"He lost control again and attacked me," Somnus answered, "We fought and he almost killed me but in the end, my brother was able to be in control again. Seeing what he did he went running again and Gigalmesh brought me back in the Palace,"

"And the Oracle?" Regis asked.

"She was safe, Reno took her together with Astraea before Ardyn fully lost control," Somnus replied.

"It must be hard on her, seeing her fiance like that…"

"Yes, it was hard on her," Carbuncle nodded at King Regis, "But like my masters and the Princess, The Oracle kept doing her role. Her calling as the Oracle of Bahamut. Even though she wanted to help Lord Ardyn she couldn't unlike the Oracle now, Lady Aera doesn't not having healing power, she can only watch and wait for Bahamut to talk to her and to reveal who is to be king,"

Silent filled the room again and they rested for a bit, all of them drunk a glass of water before continuing.

"So what happened after that? What happened to Lord Ardyn,"

"Well, nothing happened… For a week Astraea was in a coma yet again, after all, she was poisoned by the _Arachne. _During that week, Ardyn kept healing people," Reno said.

"What about you Somnus, What do you do?"

Somnus gazed at Aerith then lowered his gaze at the floor, "After we got back at the Palace, Daemons started to attack Lucis in every corner, We were busy defending our lands, because of all the chaos around me and the whispers inside of me I was not thinking straight again and continue my ruthless pursuit of Ardyn. Not only that I continued to burn down villagers non-stop to stop the spread of the starscourge, Because of that the people started to fear me yet again."

"Yeah… you kinda put the Kingdom of Lucis as the brink of destruction back then Somnus," Reno gazed at him.

"I know, can you please not remind me of that…" he growled at him.

"Sorry..did not mean to anger you...Sommy," Reno raised in hands, "But I'm still very impressed with you, if how you handle it,"

"Handle it?"

"Yup, how you able to be in controlled again and how you get rid of the whispers inside of you,"

"Oh.. that…" Somnus held his hand onto his heart, "To be exact I'm stunned that it works,"

Before anyone could ask a question his memory started to play again.

**... **

_He was in Astraea bedside, holding his sister's hand, "It's she going to be alright Reno?"_

"_Don't worry, Somnus, she will be alright, the poison was already out of her system, she will wake up soon," Reno answered him from behind. _

"_Good, Please take care of her," he stood up and walked towards the door._

"_You should take a rest too Somnus,"_

_He nodded at the guardian and closed the door behind him. He went towards his chamber. After arriving at his chamber he did not waste any time. He went to his desk and started to read the daily report. He saw a report about Ardyn. The Healer was last seen on the ruins of their fallen kingdom(Disk of Cauthess) healing people left and right. He flicked to the next report to see reports about anarchy and conflicts around the Kingdom of Lucis and its neighboring lands. _

'_**Lucis is ruined now…'**_

_He could hear the whispers again._

'_**And it is because of you…' **__they laughed._

'_**You did this... You destroyed your precious kingdom!"**_

"_SHUT UP!" He shouted at them and slammed his hands on the desk._

'_**Your people hated you… they wanted you dead!'**_

'_**You don't serve to be Bahamut's champion, you're not a Warrior of light!'**_

…

"As you see, the Whispers have ways to use your fear and insecurity to corrupt you. I was tired of listening to them, that night I fought back and won,"

"Did Astraea help you get rid of them?" Aerith asked.

"Nope," Reno interjected, "Somnus did it alone by himself,"

"How?" all asked in unison.

Reno gazed at the Founder King, "Just watch it for yourself,"

…

'_**Just like Ardyn… you will fall into darkness!'**_

'_**All of you will die... Everything will fall into darkness!'**_

"_I won't let you win!"_

'_**Hahahaha… you can't do anything now…'**_

'_**Our master will be back and the first he will do it to kill FIRE MAIDEN!'**_

"_Don't you dare!" Somnus stood up and suddenly summoned his sword without second thoughts he plunged his sword into his chest._

_He gasped in pain, he could hear the whispers howling in pain, so plunged the sword deeper into his body as the howling stopped he couldn't hear or felt the whispers inside of him. With a grunt he pulled out his sword, it disappeared in the flash of blue light. The double door suddenly flew open and he saw Reno and Carbuncle running towards him. Before the guardians could reach him, he felt towards the floor and lost consciousness._

**... **

"And you're wondering where Astraea got her recklessness from," Reno said while looking at Somnus. The warrior was his hand on his heart, panting in pain, "Oh...Are you alright Somnus?" He went to his side and comforted him.

"I'm alright Reno, this pain will soon fade, please don't mind me, continue… I want this over with,"

Reno nodded and the sphere lit up again.

**…**

_Reno was given him first aid and gave him a potion and put him on his bed while waiting for the warrior to wake up._

_The door flew open and in came Astraea with Aera and Gilgamesh._

"_What happened!? Astraea shouted as she ran to her brother's bedside._

"_Astarea you're awake, are you okay?" Reno asked._

"_Don't mind me, How is my brother, what did he do?"_

"_Somnus stabbed himself," Cally answered._

"_What! Why?" Astraea caressed her brother's cheek._

"_Looks like he tried to kill the whispers inside of him," Reno said._

"_Did it work?" Aera asked._

"_Surprisingly yes, It works, Somnus is now free from the whispers influence," Cally answered._

"_Thank the Astrals," Astraea sighed in relief._

_It took Somnus 30 minutes to wake up, during that time, The Oracle and Shield were already gone. The only one left inside the warrior's chamber was Reno, Astraea, and Carbuncle. The fox guardian is curled up on her master's side. While Astraea was sitting on a chair on his bedside and leaning in her brother's body as she fell asleep again. Reno remained awake waiting for the champion of Bahamut to wake up. Somnus opened his eyes slowly and gazed around to find his sister sleeping on his chest,_

"_Astraea…" he whispered and brushed her hair._

_The Fire maiden bolted upright, "Somnus Are you okay!?"_

"_I'm okay… why are you here? You should be asleep-" The Fire Maiden did not let me finish as she punched him on the stomach which made him sit upright with a jolt._

"_ARE YOU INSANE WHY DID YOU DO THAT! BROTHER!" she shouted._

_Carbuncle jumped out startled by the Princess's voice. She quickly turned around to find her master falling back down at the bed._

'_Ouch…That gonna hurt' Reno thought, Somnus was not moving anymore, "Ah… Astraea you kinda went overboard. Somnus has knocked out cold again," he said while looking down at the unconscious warrior and smiling._

"_Wait...What! Brother!" Astraea started to shake his shoulders, "Reno get a potion hurry!"_

_Reno chuckled, "Be right back…stayed with them Cally," He went to get a potion in Astraea room. When he comes back Somnus is now awake and talking to the crying Fire Maiden._

_Reno just stayed standing at the end of the bed and Carbuncle jumped into his shoulder._

"_What happened? Why is she crying?" he asked_

"_Well, Somnus explained to the Princess why he stabbed himself," Cally answered him in a hushed tone, "And the princess did not like that… she blaming herself for what happened to her brother,"_

_Before Reno could speak, Astraea and Somnus started to talk again. He decided to remain silent and watched the siblings talk._

"_You know you should have told me about the whispers," Astraea said looking down and squeezing her brother's hands, "I might be able to help instead of stabbing yourself, you could have killed yourself for trying that stupid act," _

"_Well it did work, the whispers are now dead. I'm perfectly fine, you're potion helped me … so please don't blame yourself Astraea," Somnus said in a soft tone._

_His sister just looked at him, tears still pouring out, "But still…I could..."_

_The older brother just sighed and hugged her, "I told you I'm okay, Astraea don't worry about me. They are already gone, and you should save your strength for the future,"_

"_Why?" she asked as she broke the embrace._

"_Why? Because Ardyn needs you more than I, Please Astraea save our brother… save Ardyn…" he looked at her sincerely._

_Astraea nodded, "I will promise to save our brother. Our family will be complete again,"_

"_And we will watch the sunrise together…" Somnus said as he hugged her again she returned to hug. Reno's memory faded._

…

"It's just a pity that you three did not have the chance to fulfill that promise," Reno whispered looking at the Founder King.

Somnus just lowered his head, "Yes, It was… that night I just want to make her stop crying… that I reason why I said that… that she could save our brother… but it was all a lie."

"But the Princess knew it… what the future holds, All of you knew it but still you kept smiling… waiting until the day that destiny calls you," Carbuncle said as she wrapped her tail around her.

"Yeah…so much for being blessed by the Astrals… But I don't blame them after all, even the Atrals can't stop fate even how cruel it can be…" Reno sighed and gazed at his hands, "Just like us… we can't stop it…" his hands turned into a fist, "But enough about that… let us continue… If I remember your relationship with Astraea returned to normal right Somnus?"

The warrior nodded, "Yes… we became closer than ever, she won't even leave my side, she was worried I would try to stab myself again," he chuckled.

"Of course you almost die, what do you expect," Reno snickered.

"Or she just wants to spend her remaining time with you," Cally said. Somnus and Reno's happy demeanor changed, The fox guardian saw that she frowned, "Sorry I didn't mean to make you sad…" Carbuncle bowed towards his former master.

"It's okay, Cally, but you were right, Astraea did spend her last remaining days with me, I just wish I knew that so we spent more time as a family," Somnus lowered his head. "If I only knew…"

"Why are you still busy hunting Ardyn down?" Regis asked.

"No… I give up hunting my brother down and let him be, after all, the whispers inside of me are long gone. I was busy doing paperwork and damage control. That I did not spend quality time with my sister, I regretted that… the last night we spent together was playing chess, Ardyn was there too…"

"That night?" Reno asked.

"Yes, the night when the Crystal choose its king,"

"Oh… that night…" Reno lowered his head.

The sphere started to glow again and showed the memory of the Founder King.

**…**

_Somus was busy doing paperwork on his desk. After singing the last document he sighed and leaned back on his chair and rubbed his eyes. Suddenly he heard someone whisper his name._

"_Somnus…"_

_He bottled upright and summoned his sword and gazed at the source of the voice which was coming from the terrace. In the dark, a silhouette of a man started to grow bigger and bigger. He can feel an uneasy feeling coming from it. His grip tightened on this sword ready for anything. When the man stepped further in the light of the fireplace he could see who it was he sighed seeing his brother._

"_Brother..." he lowered his sword._

"_Did I scare you?" Ardyn asked as he lowered the cloak of his robe._

"_I little bit yes," he unsummoned his sword._

"_Sorry, about that," Ardyn walked towards the fireplace, "You should keep Astraea's flame burning, you don't want daemons attacking in the shadow," his brother started to throw new firewoods on the dying flames of the firepit._

"_Why are you here… Ardyn…" Somnus asked, not moving from his spot._

"_Well, I heard humor that you tried to kill yourself. I just want to make sure you're okay, after all, I'm still your big brother…" Ardyn smiled sadly at him, "And you still have your destiny to fulfill, have you forgotten or you're trying to escape it?_

_Somnus frowned and huffed., "I did not try to kill myself! I just wanted to get rid of the menacing whispers inside of me. They kept whispering, I got tired of it and killed them myself and it worked now I am free of them…"_

"_Is that so…" Ardyn slowly walked towards his desk, "I know how you felt, they are quite very persuasive. Coming from a man harboring them,"_

"_How many?" Somnus asked in a worried tone, "50? 70?"_

"_HA!" Ardyn snorted, "Tried a 100 and counting"_

"_Hundred!" Somnus' eyes went wide, "Brother…"_

_The older brother just sighed, "Don't worry I can control them. You're safe and besides, I'm here just to make sure you're okay."_

"_I'm fine brother,"_

"_And Astraea?"_

"_She fine too,"_

"_Okay… then that all I need to hear, "Goodbye Somnus, and fulfill your calling went destiny calls you,"_

_Ardyn is about to walk out but his brother stopped him, "Wait Ardyn!"The Healer turned his head back to him. Somnus took a deep long breath and exhaled and smiled at his brother, "Can you stay for a bit and play chess with me?"_

_The Healers' eyes widened and a smile appeared on his face, "I would love that…"_

_His little brother nodded and opened one of his drawers and took the ruby and sapphire chessboard._

"_I will be the __**red**__ one" Ardyn announced at he took a seat in front of his brother,_

"_You are always the red one," Somnus said with a smile. He started to arrange his side while Ardyn did the same with him within seconds they started to play. Both of them are quite good at playing, Somnus had a hard time defeating his brother goes for the Healer. An hour passed and they were still at it after the two-hour mark they decided to stop._

"_So if I counted it correctly, I won 12 times and you 10 so I win.," Ardyn said leaning on his chair._

_The raven-haired warriors just sighed, "Yup you won this time, brother but the next I will win it for sure," he gazed at his brother just to find me looking at him sadly, that when he remembered there would be no next time, "Oh…" he frowned and leaned back on his chair._

"_Somnus…" Ardyn whispered his name with love, "I know it will be hard and painful for you but please don't back down and keep your promise. Do it for me… for Astraea… our parents… better yet do it for the people of Eos. Be the Warrior of Light you are destined to be,"_

_Before he could answer they heard a knock, "Somnus? Are you still awake?" they both stood up as they heard the soft voice of their sister. _

"_Don't forget Somnus…" Before the founder king could react, Ardyn suddenly warped out the room and disappeared into the night._

_Somnus was surprised by what had happened, another knock came he was able to regain his composure and he answered, "Yes… I come in.."_

_The door slowly opened and Astraea stepped in, "Sorry to bother, you but I can't sleep," she walked towards his desk._

"_Are you alright?"_

"_Yes," she nodded._

"_Do you want to go for a walk? Do you want me to accompany you?"_

_She shook her head, "No I just want to play chess with you, can we?"_

"_Sure...take a seat," he gestured to the empty seat in front of his desk._

"_Did you have a visitor?" _

"_What no? Why?"_

"_So why is the chessboard out?"_

_Somnus gulped and looked down at his desk, "Oh.. that… Nothing I just playing by myself,"_

"_Is that so" Astraea said with raised eyebrows._

He saw her eyes, she was studying him. That's when he saw Ardyn glass seating next to his, after all. He and Ardyn had drinks together while playing chess, he knew that Astraea saw it. He was about to explain it but Astraea just sigh and sat down and started to arrange the board for a new game. He was looking at her confused.

"_What are you waiting for Sommy" she chuckled, "It's your turn._

"_Yes! Sorry…" Somnus took a seat and they started to play._

_In the middle of the game, Astraea suddenly spoke, "Ardyn was here right?"_

_Somnus' eyes shut up to meet her eyes from looking down at the broad, his mouth agape, not knowing how to answer her question. Before he could open his mouth a pillar of light suddenly shot up towards the sky from the throne room. Both siblings stood up and gazed at it through the painted arch glass window. _

"_That is..?" Astraea whispered._

"_Bahamut's crystal…" Somnus murmured_

_They both looked at each other and nodded, with that, they both left their game and went towards the throne room. They both entered the throne room together, the others were already there, waiting for the Oracle to announce who was picked. Aera was standing at the foot of the crystal on top of the stairs._

_Astraea went towards Reno's side, while Somus went beside Lord Gilgamesh and Lady Rosa. _

"_The Crystal has decided!" she announced, "It showed me who will be __**King**__!"_

_The warrior of Bahamut gazed at the crystal and focused his attention towards the Oracle._

"_The King that the Crystal has chosen is…" Aera stopped and took a deep breath… none other than...Lord…" she stopped again and gazed around. Somnus held his breath in anticipation and he noticed that Astraea interlocked her left fingers with Reno's. She was gripping it tightly waiting for the Oracle to speak, "The king of this kingdom will be… Lord Ardyn Lucis Caelum!"_

_Somnus held his breath for he couldn't believe what he just heard. Suddenly he heard Reno gasped. He turned to see Astarea on the floor unconscious. _

"_Astraea!" he ran towards her before he could reach her. The memory faded_.

**...**

"What happened to her? Why did she faint?" Aerith asked with a worried expression.

"Back then I don't know." Somnus said while shaking his head, "After all, she did not wake up until the next day," he chuckled sadly, "The same day that we fulfilled our calling,"

"Wait, that means…" Reigns trailed off

"Yes… its the day I took Ardyn's life and Astraea's flames die down with her,"

Silent filled the room as they waited for Founder King, Reno, or even Carbuncle to speak. With a deep breath, Reno spoke first.

"Okay then... Let's get this over with, as Somnus said the very next day was the coronation…" He saw the disbelief in the eyes of the people around him and sighed again, "I knew it was quick, you can't blame the people, they waited for 4 years for the crystal to choose its king. They were oblivious to what was going to happen next. Astraea woke up that afternoon and finally told me why she fainted after the announcement of the Oracle. She said she was praying that the future would change and that the vision she saw will not happen. But the Oracle announcement destroyed her hope for a different future. But even with that she still accepted her fate and was ready to face her death with open arms."

As the sphere lit up they straightened themselves up readying themselves for the heart arch that was about to come.

**…**

_Reno kept fidgeting with the collar of his white tunic(White Mage Male Art - Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood). He does not like fitting clothes but he does not have a choice. Astraea asked him to wear it after all this day is a special occasion. He kept pulling the collar away from his neck and sighing._

"_Can you stop that, Reno. You will catch it on fire you keep doing that," Astraea said as she stepped out from the dressing screen. She was wearing a red frock coat with red pants and black kneehigh boots and gloves. (Red Mage female Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood) _

"_Who do I look?" she asked with a wide smile._

_Reno's eyes softened as he gazed at him, "Beautiful…" he whispered, "You're like the eternal flames, stunning but deadly at the same time, but should you be wearing a dress?" he smiled._

"_You knew I don't like wearing a dress, Reno… and beside this is my signature outfit as the Fire Maiden," she said as she looked at herself in the huge mirror next to the dressing screen, "After all I need to leave my mark on this world, Why not go with style," she was smiling but her eyes were saying the opposite as she went towards her vanity. _

_He followed her and stopped behind her. The Fire Maiden opened the red wooden jewelry box in front of her. Inside was the heart-shaped winged necklace, the red part was facing upright. She sighed and ran her finger on the crimson gem, "I remembered it all…" she muttered her eyes not leaving the necklace._

"_What..? remembered what?" he asked._

"_Everything…" she looked at him in the mirror, "About my past… about the truth, what had happened in Solheim," she saw the shock expression on his face before Reno could speak, she continued, "But don't worry I'm over with it now. I have moved forward, the past is the past, we need to move forward," _

_The guardian just lowered his head, "I'm sorry… I could not protect you… I could not protect them,"_

"_Don't have to apologize Reno, you did all you can do as I did all I can do...I don't blame you… there's no one to blame, its destiny that Solheim has fallen..." she said and reached for a small ring box inside the jewelry box she opened it to reveal a silver ring with a giant blue gem, (Final Fantasy XII Save Crystal Ring)__"It's was destiny that our people… our loved ones lose their life back then…but let us not waste all their sacrifice," she closed the box and put it inside the large jewelry box, "Let finished this fight… right now," she closed the jewelry and stood up and turned to him, "Thank you for everything Reno, you been a very great guardian__,"_

_She hugged him tightly, Reno was surprised at first but returned the hug. He could feel her tears falling down his shoulder and hear her soft whimpers. "Astraea…" he brushed her crimson hair gently. "You don't have to do this you know...there must be another way,"_

_She shook her head and broke the embrace, "As I told you Reno, we can't change our fate or escape it, so let us just face it with everything we got," _

"_I adored your bravery, My master," he wiped her tears away, "You are truly the embodiment of the eternal flames... Astraea Lucis Izunia… The Fire Maiden," he gave her a sweet and loving smile. _

_She returned it and cupped his face, "Thank...Reno...my dearest Fiery Phoenix. Remember your promise… and always look at the bright side of things after all no matter how dark the night, morning always comes, and our journey begins anew,". she smiled again and hugged him._

"_I always remember that…" _

"_Hey, Reno…"_

"_Yes...Princess…"_

_She frowned, "I told you not to call me that,"_

"_Well, you're going to die and leave me alone. So please let me call you whatever I want, Your Highness," he bowed._

"_Fine… I just want to tell you that I'm going to do something stupid,"_

"_Really?" he chuckled, "You always do stupid things so what difference, I use to it,"_

"_Excuse me!" she put her hands on her waist, "I'm not alone doing those stupid things, your always me with, Reno. Do not act of high and mighty, you're a troublemaker too,"_

"_Where do you think I learned it from huh?" he smirked at her._

"_From me… where else, after all, I'm the Fire Maiden,' she giggled, "But I'm serious Reno, I will do something that we cause heartache towards my loved one… towards you… I need to do it to fulfill my calling. I want you to just stay back and support me on this. Can you do that?"_

_Reno frowned, "No… for I'm very tempted to grab you right now and fly away from here,"_

"_No!" she held a finger in his face, "I told you Reno, I can't do that… I need to face my destiny and my only request is, do not stop me and be by my side until the very end,"_

_Reno just remained silent while looking at her. Astraea smiled at him sadly and cupped his face, "Sorry...Reno but this is my destiny… I'm sorry I'm going to leave you… but please continue on living, for me," The guardian's tears started to fall, she gently brushed it away and hugged him again he hugged her back. _

_They shared a deep embrace for several seconds then they heard a bell ring signaling that its time. They stepped back gazed and nodded at each other._

"_Let's go Reno… fate calls us…" she said while grabbing a hat with a feather on it._

"_Wait, are you wearing that?" he asked eyeing the hat_

"_Why does it look silly,"_

"_Yes…" he chuckled. _

"_Really?! Somnus said it was alright…I should have not believed him," she put the hat down and pouted._

_Reno laughed, "Don't worry your outfit is amazing even without the hat, So let us go, Princess…" he held his left hand towards her and bowed._

_She took it and smiled, "Alright… let us go,"_

**... **

"Funny" Somnus gave out a small laugh, they all turned to him. He gazed at them with emotionless eyes and said, "Back then Ardyn and I was getting ready to face our fate too,"

Before anyone could talk the sphere glowed and showed his memory.

**...**

_Somnus was now finished clipping his cape on his robe when he heard the door opened. He turned around to see his older brother standing there. The Healer of the People was wearing his white healer robe. _

"_Ardyn…"_

"_Are you ready?" The younger brother shook his head. The Healer sighed and walked towards him and stopped in front of him, "You should be…" Ardyn buttoned the last part of his blue robe, "Have courage and fulfill your calling, Somnus," The Healer smiled at him, and put two reassuring hands on his shoulders, "Be the light to cast the darkness away," With remorse Somnus nodded._

"_Please tell Aera and Astraea everything after its done, Tell them I love them,"_

"_I will brother… you can count on me, your sacrifice will be remembered forever," _

"_That my little brother…" Ardyn laughed and ruffled his raven hair. He protested and whacked Ardyn's hand away._

"_Ouch, the hurt," Ardyn smirked and startled to walked away, "I almost forgot Sommy," he looked back at him, "We need to fight,"_

"_Fight why?"_

"_Because you need to draw out the whispers and starscourge inside of me. They are attracted to negative emotions, especially anger… we need to fight and make sure it is believable. Champion of Bahamut"_

_Before Somnus could reply to his remark, Ardyn is now out of the door. He sighed and sat back on his chair. Moments later a knock was heard at the door and Gilgamesh stepped in._

"_It time, Lord Somnus,"_

_With a deep breath, Somnus stood up and walked towards the door._

_Gilgamesh saw the sadness in his eyes and asked, "It's there something wrong?" _

_Somnus just gazed at the future shield, "I need to tell you something before we go to the throne room,"_

"_Alright tell me you always have support, My Lord…"_

_Before Somnus could speak the memory faded._

**…**

"Regis…" Somnus uttered the king's name.

"Yes…"

The Founder King gazed at him, "Prepare yourself, my emotions will gonna affect you… all of you…" he gazed around, "All of you will feel all my suffering… our suffering... If you can't handle it please tell me and we will stop right away."

All of them have reluctant expressions written all over their faces but without giving a second thought. They all nodded at him, "Go ahead… Somnus we can handle it, we will go through this together as a family," Regis said as he straightened himself on his chair and gripped his cane tightly.

Somnus then looked at Guardians, They both nodded at him. Carbuncle then jumped towards his shoulder and wrapped her tail around his neck. She smiled sadly at him and he nodded. With a deep breath, his memory started to project as the whole room went silent and a depressing air lingered in the air.

**... **

_Somnus was now inside the throne room, he was beside the last pillar of the circular platform in the center of the room. Aera and Gilgamesh were on top of the stairs beside the throne. The council and some nobles around Lucis gathered around them. When the door opened and Ardyn stepped in she was greeted by their sister. Astraea went for a hug and the healer returned it. Even in that distance, he could see that Astraea's have tears in her eyes. Ardyn laughed seeing her outfit she gave him a good punch in the stomach. He laughed at their antic then Astraea kissed him on the cheek and bowed. Ardyn patted her on the head and started to walk towards him. When their eyes met, He went down on his knees and lowered his head. Waiting for Ardyn to cross the bridge leading towards the center of the room._

_When Ardyn passed him, he could hear his brother whisper, "Now…" _

_Even with shaking hands he slowly stood up, 'Here goes nothing' he thought, "It was me brother…" he said softly._

_He remembered his brother's words, 'Make sure it is believable.'_

_With a deep breath and stepped in the middle and waved his hands in the air, "It was me! I was chosen by the Gods!"_

_He could hear Aera's protest but Gilgamesh stopped her._

_The people around them started to murmur. _

"_Do forgive me for deceiving you all like this. However, it was necessary to lure the seditious traitor here today! What a miserable man, After all, you have done, almost killing the princess and threatening my life, you still think that the crystal will choose you...you really covet the throne that badly, brother?"_

_Ardyn glanced at him, "You…"_

"_The gods have spoken," he summoned his sword, "And I Somnus Lucis Caelum, am King!" Somnus's voice cracked in the end but he was lucky that no one notices it. "With my light, I will cast your darkness away, I kept our sister and people of Lucis safe from you, Monster!"_

"_Do you really think I'm a monster?"_

"_Yes, you will never be king!"_

"_What if I object, Brother?"_

"_Then I will fight you,"_

_They gazed at each other's eyes, then Somnus heard Ardyn speaking to him, telepathically, __**"You are enjoying this huh...Sommy,"**__ he laughed. _

_He was surprised at first but he remembered it was one of Carbuncle's skills. To let them speak telepathically, he gazed around to see the fox guardian on top of Bahamut's crystal looking at them with sadness. He nodded at her and then looked back at his brother._

"_**Not the slightest brother…"**_

"_**Really? You sound very convincing," **_

"_**As you said, we need it to be believable," **_

"_**Well then," Ardyn cooed, "Let us finish them, Somnus… GO GIVE ME YOUR ALL!"**_

"_**Right! Here I come, Brother!"**_

Somnus lunged forward. Ardyn was able to summon his sword. Their swords met sparks and went flying. The Healer was able to cut his sword in half, "I will not take your life so long as you renounce your -" his brother started to cough while holding his chest.

Somnus smirked and went for an attack again. Flash of blue and red light followed their swords as they swung it at each other. With a strong upward slashed Somnus went flying in the air as he blocked Ardyn's sword. He rolled on the ground and summoned a spear and threw it at his brother. Ardyn was able to catch it but he quickly warped and pushed the spear into his chest. The Healer stepped back holding the spear.

He stopped for a bit and looked at his brother, **"Don't stop!" **Ardyn gritted his teeth and summoned his sword, he did an inside stance. Pointing the sword in Ardyn's direction. With a deep final breath, he warped towards his brother.

Before his blade could reach his brother he saw a flash of red then heard his sword plunging into someone's body. His eyes widened to see who it was, he gasped as he saw Astraea in front of him. He gazed down at his hands to see his sword deep in his sister's chest.

"_Sommy…" he looked up to see Astarea crimson eyes looking at him, she touched his right cheek with a bloodied hand, "Sorry…" with that Somnus slowly pulled out his sword, Astraea's blood splatter in the ground. She then fell back on Ardyn's arms. Somnus dropped his sword and it clanged onto the floor before disappearing. The sound of screaming and gasping filled the room. _

"_Astraea!"He went to her sister. _

_Ardyn slowly sat on his knees and cradled Astraea, "Astraea…" Ardyn's shaking hand's brushed her bangs away._

"_Addy…" her crimson eyes started to water and looked to her left to find Somnus, "Sommy…"_

"_Astraea what did you do THAT!?" Somnus' voice was shaking while putting pressure on her wounds. "RENO! Potion hurry,"_

_Reno went beside them, "Sorry… it won't work…" he lowered his head down._

"_JUST GIVE A GODDAMN POTION!" he shouted at him._

_Reno just flinched and backed away. Before Somnus could shout again. Aera went to their side with a potion. _

_The Oracle quickly popped the cork and poured the potion into Astraea's wound. It glowed for a bit when the light died down. The wound is still there, still bleeding profusely._

"_No!" Both brothers shouted. _

_Somnus stood up while Ardyn tried to apply first aid to stop the bleeding and he yanked Reno close to him, 'Heal her! please use your tears!"_

"_I can't…" Reno said, trying not to cry._

"_WHY! HEAL HER NOW!"_

"_Reno's tears won't work either, brother…" Astraea said while looking at him, "Either is your fighting, he won't come out… Diabolos won't come out..."_

"_What?" Somnus asked as he went down again and held her trembling right hand._

"_Astraea what are you talking about," Ardyn asked as she caressed her face._

"_Well... you see...," she tried to sit up but she flinched in pain. Her wound opened wider and ended up coughing blood. She fell towards her brother's arms again._

"_Astraea please don't move…" Ardyn started to cry._

"_No… I still have something to do…" she sat up, even with the protest of her brothers, "I still need to fulfill my calling,"_

_Both brother's eyes widened, She saw this and sadly smiled at them, "You see, I saw our future… I know what you are trying to do, I knew about the pact you made with Bahamut… the two of you…" Somnus and Ardyn gasped as they heard her revelation, "Thank you for trying to save me… Addy…" he caressed his cheeks with one hand and the other was on Somnus's cheek, "Sommy... but I need to do this… I need to end it… I must… for… the future." she said while trying to catch her breath. "I need to draw him out from the shadow...I need to purify all of Eos, this is my calling as the champion of Ifrit and a warrior of light" Both brothers could not believe what they were hearing, they can't speak or react to what she said. Astraea lowered her hands and glanced at Reno who was beside Somnus. With a nod, Reno wings brust from his back and pushed Ardyn, Somnus, and Aera out of the way and engulfed the two of them._

"_Reno! What are you doing!" both warriors shouted as they were forced to back away._

_When Reno wings spread opened, Astraea was now standing and leaning on Reno for support._

"_Astraea what are you doing!" Somnus tried to walk towards them but a ring of fire appeared around both master and guardian._

_Astraea! STOP THIS!" Ardyn shouted._

_The Fire Maiden just shook her head slowly and stepped forward, "I can't… this is my fate… my calling, brother…" Astraea held both her shaking hands together and started to her chant, "_Chaos that sought and cling upon the darken hearts, Hear my prayer and come into the light,"

"_Astraea stop this please don't do this!" Somnus pleaded, trying to go through the ring of fire. But the flames grew bigger and it changed color from red to blue as Astraea continued._

"_Ignite the flame of your heart and be free from the chaos of the dark. Flame of Purification!" she shouted at all her might. The blue flames shot up towards the sky. Parting the dark cloud and bursting into a ring of light spreading into the night sky, light particles falling like a thousand little falling stars around them. (Light of Purification, Tales of Zestiria Ep. 20)_

"_Still not enough…"_

_Somnus heard her, he panicked "NO Astraea stop this now!"_

_She gazed at him and smiled, suddenly blue flames engulfed her entire body and shined brightly blinding anyone who stared at her._

_ASTRAEA!" he shouted again._

_As the light faded they were suppressed to see a phoenix made of blue flames standing before them. It's crimson eyes shining brightly. Embers flutter around her. (Like what happened to Chise Hatori on The Ancient Magus' Bride S01EP12 but with blue flames)._

"_Astraea..." Somnus backed away as his sister spread her wings._

_Astraea crimson eyes looked down on them, "Be right back..," she said as he spread her wings wider._

"_Reno…" she turned to him, "Come fly with me…" He nodded._

_Astraea flapped her wings and went flying up and towards the opening of the dome, the guardian followed her up into the night sky._

"_ASTRAEA!" Both brothers shouted._

_**...**_

_Without stopping and warning the sphere changed into Reno's point of view. They encircled the tower first before flying towards the town of Nibelheim and towards the desert plains. Reno was having trouble keeping up with her. She was flying incredibly fast, every flap on her wings blue flames fell from her wing and tail and went towards every home, every heart of the people. Seeking the chaos, seeking the whispers, and destroying it. Her flames even went into the darkest and deepest of caves where the daemons are hiding and burning them, not leaving anything behind._

_Astraea phoenix form lights up the velvet sky leaving embers and light particles into the air in her wake. Every time they reached a new settlement or town the people started to go out and gazed at her with amazing. Reno just awed at his master to see what she became. She was truly the 'fire maiden' and a shining star in the night sky. They crossed the great sea, Astraea flames reflected on the waters below. _

"_**So this is how flying feels,"**__ she talked to him telepathically._

"_**Yup…"**__ he answered as he flew beside her. _

_Her eyes glanced at him, "Hey reno… let race…"_

_Reno's eyes widened, __**"Fine… if that is what you want, then let us race… Fire Maiden…" **__he smirked as he transformed into his phoenix form, his wings burst into flames, __**"Don't cry if you lose, Astraea," **__he went ahead of her._

_Astarea just laughed and flapped her wings and caught up with her guardian. Now both of them lit up the night sky with their flames. They reached the other side of the world and the princess wasted no time to purify the land and its people. Reno felt that they were flying all night but in truth, they were just flying for five minutes. They finally returned towards their home, Reno saw the people gathering around the palace when they encircled the tower where the throne room was located. More people were inside, Ardyn and Somnus were near the edge of the building looking at them with worried expressions. Astraea stopped and hovered in the opening of the dome. Her wings beating slowly embers and light particles fluttering around her. She looked down to see her brother in the middle of the room looking at her, "It's done..." she whispered as the flames started to die down her body returned being human she slowly floated down, Reno went to her side and transformed into human form and carried Astraea bridal style down towards the throne room. As they descended he noticed how Astraea's red hair started to fade, as Ifrit's flames started to fade away. His feet reached the ground he let Astraea leaned into his body for support as they sat down in the middle of the room._

"_Astraea!" Both brothers ran towards them and kneeled beside them._

"_What are you stupid! why did you do that?" Ardyn asked, caressing her cheek._

_She just smiled at him, "No as stupid as you Addy… offering your body as a vessel for the darkness,"_

_Ardyn gulped and his hand backed away from her face, "Don't let him take over… make sure you fight him…" she touched his right cheek and wiped his tears, "I know you can do it Addy…please be in control…" _

_Astarea then gazed at Somnus who's now crying, "Sommy…" she reached a hand for him._

"_Yes, I'm here…" he grabbed her hand and held it tightly, "Kill the stupid bat for me… kill Diabolos and end his dark reign,"_

_Somnus choked, "Yes…" his tears won't stop falling, "I will… just please don't die...Astraea… please," he leaned on the forehead, "Please we still need to watch the sunrise together right? Remember your promise…" he hugged her and brushed her hair which has returned to its natural black color._

"_Sorry…" she hugged him back, "I can't…but still don't lose hope… brother and don't blame yourself okay?" she broke the embrace, "Reno…"_

"_Yes…"_

"_Tell Somnus everything alright… and remember your promise…"_

"_I will," he lowered his head._

"_Thank you, my little Chocobo," she patted him on the head._

_She gazed around, Ardyn and Somnus were both kneeling at each side of her. Gilgamesh was behind Somnus while Aera was behind Ardyn. She smiled at them, "Always remembered you need to have __**COURAGE**__ to face everything head-on, and at times you are lost don't lose __**HOPE**__ and always remember__** LOVE**__ is the strongest weapon you have." she breathed deeply, with one last smile and said, "I love you all and thank you…" with another deep breath she slowly closed her eyes. Reno could feel Astraea life fading away._

_Astraea's hand fell from Somnus's grip and fell to her side, "Astra-" Somnus choked as he looked at her face. All of them felt it… Astraea's life faded out… and disappearing._

"_NO!" Somnus shouted._

_She grabbed Astraea lifeless body again and hugged her tightly and he started to rock back and front, cradling his sister's body, "No… please...no... Astraea…!"_

_Reno slowly rose to his feet, he saw Ardyn backing up from them. His body shaking Aera at his side, crying on his shoulder._

_Somnus then gazed at Bahamut Crystal, with that the memory shifted into his point of view. He lowered Astraea down on the floor._

"_Bahamut…" he walked slowly towards the crystal, "please… don't take her away… please don't," his knees gave way and he fell to the floor on his knees and hand, gasping and crying, "PLEASE DON'T!" he shouted._

_Tears flooded his eyes as he looked up towards the light crystal, "BAHAMUT!" he shouted. _

_Then he felt the dark and ominous presence. He quickly stood up before he turned around. Astraea's flames started to dim out from the fire baskets around them on top of the pillars. Then one by one the red flames died down around him starting middle and ran at both sides. The whole room plunged into darkness. The only light was the faint light coming from the crystal. _

_They all heard low and menacing laughter it echoed around them. Then purple flames burst out from the fire basket around them and encircle them, giving a dreaded feeling._

_Suddenly Ardyn shouted in pain and went down on his knees._

"_MY LOVE!" Aera tried to go to him, but Gigalmesh stopped her and backed away. _

_Reno scooped Astraea's body and backed away from the healer._

"_Brother!" Somnus went to his side, grabbing his right shoulder._

"_It's him…Somnus, he is here…" Ardyn said through gritted teeth._

_Before The mystic could speak Ardyn screamed again as the starscourge engulfed his body he pushed his brother away and clutched his head with both hands._

"_ARDYN!" Somnus shouted as he was about to go to his side again. But something stopped him. _

_The Healer's arms fell to his side, he slowly rose to his feet, and when he opened his eyes. Ardyn sapphire eyes are nowhere to be seen but replaced by yellow piercing eyes. The white of his eye is now gone too and replaced by black pits. Starscrourge pouring out from his eyes and lips. Somnus stood petrified looking at him, the people around them ran out for their lives and went out of the throne room. The only people left were Aera, Gilgamesh, Rosa, and Reno. They gathered together with Astraea's body still on the guardian's hands._

_Ardyn chuckled darkly as he tilted his head towards Somnus. "Hello there… Champion of Bahamut..." he spoke with a different voice is lower and more sinister. _

_Somnus could not believe what he was seeing. Looking down he saw Ardyn's shadow was different. It shaped like a winged daemon. He shook his head and held his head high and summoned his sword and pointed it at Ardyn._

"_Diabolos…" he snarled._

"_In the flesh, Warrior of Light..." Diabolos grinned as he dramatically bowed, he rose "How does it feel to kill your sister... The Fire Maiden, with you, own two hands, dear Mystic..?" smirked at him._

* * *

**A/N:** okay… I went out of control now… I was just planning to create just four chapters for the _**Recalling of the Past**_ storyline but I went too far now it has 8 chapters about it. I wanted to flesh out the relationship of the siblings and how the Kingdom of Lucis came to be and the cruel fate of becoming a Warrior of Light and the Champion of the Astrals. But I kinda went too far still I enjoyed writing it and I hope you still enjoy reading it, _**my lovely readers**_. So why not make it 10 chapters. Next stop cry Ville! Prepared your hearts to be broken… I hope… After all, all writers like to make their characters suffer and Somnus will have the full force of this suffering… sorry, not sorry…

Do you think I made a great choice having (Kingdom Hearts - "Riku's Theme" | ORIGINAL LYRICS | Lizz Robinett) to represent Somnus' struggles. And Ardyn too with (Kingdom Hearts - "Terra's Theme" | ORIGINAL LYRICS | Lizz Robinett & Lowlander). I just loved listening to these songs while writing it gives me ideas and inspiration.

Somnus and Ardyn's fight is from Final Fantasy XV: Episode Ardyn - Prologue I just changed a few scenes and dialogue.

THANK YOU! I hope you enjoy this and have a wonderful day and keep safe!


	27. Chapter 25

_**A/N: **_Warning! Graphic depictions of violence and characters' death and suicidal thoughts and action and a lot of angst.

_**Solis Ortus **_is Latin for Sunrise

There will be two quotes of this chapter on it from an anime and the other one from an unknown author. I have problems looking for the source of it if you know please let me known so that I can credit it, _**"Leave the past, live the present, create the future," -unknown**_

* * *

**Recalling of the Past: Solis Ortus  
**_"Don't ever give up. Even if it's__ painful, even if it's agonizing, don't try to take the easy way out." - Zenitsu Agatsuma__ (Demon slayer)_

* * *

As the memory of the Founder King continued the room temperature drop, as the fire in the fireplace started to die down. They all felt the same feeling they felt back in the council room where Diabolos first appeared to them. The fear for their lives, the feeling of dread. All can't help but shudder as they continue to watch the memory unfold.

**…**

_Somnus gritted his teeth and tightened his hands around the hilt of his sword, "SHUT UP!" he hissed._

"_Oh… did I strike a nerve?" Diabolos mocked as he titled his head to the side. _

_The Mystic lunged forward and attacked the Dark Astral. Diabolos just chuckled as he disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. Somnus lost his footing and stumbled for a bit lucky Gilgamesh was able to catch him and helped him up._

"_Thank you…" Somnus said he rose to his feet and gazed around._

_A low chuckled echo around them. Then Diabolos appeared behind them at the bottom of the stair. "Is this the strength of the Champion of Bahamut?" he smirked at them._

_Somnus pointed his sword at him. Gilgamesh unsheathed his sword as well as he stood beside him._

"_I want to thank you… dear warrior…" Diabolos said as he mockingly bowed to him. The founder king just hissed at him as he rose, "I've been trying to kill the__** princess **__for years now… it's been very difficult after all, both Bahamut and Ifrit's blessing kept me for getting close to her, but alas you are the one who did it!" Diabolos's piercing yellow eyes darted towards where Reno is at. The guardian is still cradling the body of the Fire Maiden protectively. "For that, I must thank you," Both Diabolos and Somnus' eyes met. The daemon smirked at him, "Finally the Eternal Flame of Ifrit is no more, and it's all because of you…" he changed his voice and used the Astraea's voice, "Sommy… my dearest brother..."_

"_SHUT UP!" Somnus shouted as he trembled with rage. _

_The Dark Messenger just chuckled and it echoed around them once again. As the purple flames got bigger and bigger casting ominous shadows around them. Suddenly Diabolos disappeared once again Somnus looked back to Reno._

"_Get out of h-" before he could finish his sentence the room started to feel cold and dark. Time froze around them, the flames stopped burning and as the embers stopped in midair he could not move a muscle the only thing he could move is his eyes. It darted across the dark room looking for the Dark Astral. Then Diabolos appeared before Reno. The guardian snarled at him, as he crouched down, "Pour princess she only wanted to save her family," he reached for her face and gently brushed her cheek, "But she ended up dead, her brother fallen into the darkness, such a waste of life,"_

"_Don't touch her!" Reno barked trying to move._

_The Dark Astral just smirked at him, "And what will you do? huh, guardian?" he gazed at his rage-filled eyes, "How does it feel to fail again? You fail to protect her back then and now you let her die… and you call yourself a guardian…"_

_Reno growled at him, his haired glowed bright red, his fingers started to turn into talon, it perched Astraea's skin,"_

"_Careful you don't want to hurt her anymore," Diabolos grinned at him after he started to walk towards the center of the room. _

"_I WILL GOING TO KILL YOU!" Reno Snapped, the effect of time control stopped and they were able to move again. Somnus and Gilgamesh encircled Diabolos while Reno handed Astraea's body to Aera and Rosa, Carbuncle appeared beside the Oracle._

"_Protect them,"_

_Carbuncle nodded and summoned a barrier around them. The Phoenix then went to help the Warrior and the Shield. _

_Diabolos's eyes studied the three of them. The Founder King and the Shield, position themselves for an attack while Reno cracked his talons as his blue eyes sharpened at him. He saw how the Dark Astral just gave Reno a sadistic smile taunting him to attack. The guardian just continued to snarl at him, his body trembling with anger. He knows that Diabolos was just playing with them before he could speak. The Dark Astral just gave one last dark chuckled towards the guardian. Reno snapped and lunged at him with his sharp talons._

"_Wait Reno!" He shouted._

_The Dark Astral jumped back and avoided it. Reno's talons collided with the marble floor it cracked in his weight. The phoenix continued to attack him with his talons. Diabolos just avoided his attack with ease. He tried to do a roundhouse kick but the Dark Astral caught his feet. The Dark Astral chuckled as his hand burst into purple flame and went towards Reno's leg and up to his body. The guardian screamed as he was thrown into the air towards one of the pillars he collided and went through the pillar and crashed into the pool. The pillar went crashing down with the fire basket which caused the wood in the basket to spill around them. Purple flames started to encircle the round platform. Where Somnus, Gilgamesh, and Diabolos stood, staring at each other._

"_You will pay this Diabolos, for all you have done..." The Founder King tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword, "I will kill you!" he pointed it towards him._

_Diabolos just laughed at him, "Kill me? Just like you kill your sister. Do you have the guts to do that?" he used Ardyn's voice, "Dear brother," _

"_SHUT UP! I will fulfill my calling, I will kill and your darkness," He shouted and lunged at him, just like what happened to the guardian. The Dark Messenger was able to avoid every attack with ease. As the Mystic brought his sword down last time, sparks went flying as Diabolos was able to block it as he summoned Ardyn's sword._

"_You're too slow..." The champion's eyes widened at the sight of it. It gave the daemon a chance to twirl his sword and disarmed the champion in an instant. The Mystic's sword went up into the air and felt towards the marble floor and slid across the room before it disappeared. The daemon suddenly grabbed onto his neck and raised him into the air he chuckled darkly, "Why did Bahamut choice a weakly like you to be his champion…" he mocked as he started to squeezed champion's windpipe_

_The Mystic started to thrash in his hand. Suddenly Diabolos hissed and he dropped him, for Gigalmesh was able to land a blow in his back. The Mystic was still on his knees gasping for air when he heard Gilgamesh scream he looked up to his horror he saw the Shield's left arm had been cut clean by Diabolos. The Dark Astral just threw the dismembered arm into the purple flames and stepped back to admire what he did. He went towards the shield as he felt down on his knees clutching his wound to stop the bleeding. _

"_Such weakling…" Diabolos said in a dark low voice as he looked down on them. _

_Through gritted teeth, the warrior summoned a spear and lunged forward. With a flick of a hand, Ardyn's sword burst into purple flames and changed into a scythe(Wing of Judgment X (MHGU)). Diabolos were able to slice the spear in half, the warrior stumbled back, Diabolos was about to land the finishing blow when Carbuncle suddenly jumped between the two and summoned a barrier. The blade of the scythe collided with the barrier and the force was too strong of the guardian to handle the barrier started to crack. The Dark Messenger withdrew his weapon and grinned at them. Gilgamesh had already passed out from blood loss, while he stood glaring at the Dark Astral. Carbuncle was trying her best to maintain the barrier, her ruby horn glowing brightly._

"_Your barrier won't stop me, dear guardian," he smirked and attacked the barrier again. The cracks started to run down the entire barrier with a final blow of the scythe the barrier came crashing down. Blue glass particles ran down at Somnus and Carbuncle. He swung the scythe towards the warrior of light._

"_Look out Somnus!" Carbuncle jumped towards her master's arm and summoned another barrier._

_It was strong enough to block the blow but it sent them skidding back a few feet. _

"_Cally!" The Mystic yielded as he caught his fallen guardian, "Are you okay?"_

_Carbuncle weakly gazed at him, "Yes, I'm okay Somnus, are you?"_

"_Fine," he hissed as he summoned his sword and rose to his feet," "How can I defeat him?"_

"_The ring," Carbuncle said as jumped to his shoulder, "The ring of Lucii,"_

"_The ring?" he asked with his glaring eyes not leaving the Dark Astral._

"_Yes, with the ring you will be able to harness the power of the Crystal,"_

"_Alright then, go and get it, Cally it is in my room,"_

"_Just be careful, Somnus…" with a flash of blue light the guardian disappeared._

"_Are you sure you're going to kill me? Are you going to kill your brother," Diabolos asked._

"_Shut up, you're not my brother! You're just using his body as a vessel,"_

"_Your right," he put a hand on his chest, "This body is not mine, is not a strong as my real body but still useful, but have you ever thought about how your brother, Ardyn, The Healer of the People," he spread his arms, "He is still here, he can feel everything, so if you kill me, you will kill him too…do you want your brother's blood in your hands too? "_

_His eyes widened in horror, "No it can be…" he whispered._

"_Sure it can…" Diabolos chuckled, "I'm only a spirit and I just borrowing your brother's body, so go ahead kill me, drive that blade into my chest just like what you did towards the Fire Maiden, KILL ME!"_

_The warrior shook his head and lowered his blade down, "No… you're lying…"_

"_Lying?" he laughed, "Why would I lie to you Warrior of Light, if I'm correct, Bahamut is the one who lied to you. He said that you can save your sister but look now, it's your sister safe?" Diabolos said, his gaze went past him and went towards the princess, Astraea's face is now pale as she lay lifeless in the Oracle arm, "Is that what Draconian promised you? He lied to you warrior of Light… just forgot about your calling and join me,"_

_He snapped back at him, "Shut up!" he raised his sword towards him again, "I will never join you!"_

"_It's that so? I can give you anything you want," Diabolos took a step forward, "I can revive her, your beloved sister…" he stopped and looked at the Fire Maiden then gazed back at Champion's eyes, "I can revive all of them, your parents… your people. I can even recreate Solheim, I knew that is what you want, I saw the desire of your heart, A life of peace.." he held his right hand towards him, "I can give you that, I can even give this body back to your brother, your family can leave peaceful under my reign, together again…"_

_Somnus' grip in his sword loosened, as the Dark Messenger words started to affect him. He lowered his sword down._

"_**NO! DON'T GIVE UP!"**__ Ardyn's voice boomed inside his head as time stopped around him. Ardyn's spirit appeared before him._

"_Brother…"_

"_Don't listen to him, he is lying…"_

"_But Ardyn your body, I don't want to hurt you,"_

"_Just do it! It does not matter, fulfill your Calling Somnus, kill Diabolos!"_

"_But…"_

"_Do what I say, Somnus! That is my order, kill him!" _

"_But how? He is too strong," _

"_Don't worry, I will try to be in control again and when that happened act fast, pierce my heart, that the only way to kill him,"_

"_I can't brother… I can't kill you,"_

_Ardyn sighed, "Yes you can this is your calling, Don't let Astraea's sacrifice be wasted, end this… Sommy,"_

"_Yes…brother please..." Astraea's spirit appeared on Ardyn's side._

"_Astra… Astraea…" he stammered as he tried to walk to them but his sister held a hand to stop him, "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry…"_

"_Don't be!" she said she smiled at him, "Just finished what I started, kill that stupid bat for me… I know you can do this brother… I believe in you, don't worry my flames will help you."_

"_Astraea is right, we will give you a chance to strike, finish our fight once and for all, Somnus!"_

_Both sibling spirits started to fade, "Wait no don't go!" he shouted as he reached a hand towards them. Time resumed, Diabolos suddenly lunged at him, the champion of Bahamut did have time to block his attack luckily Reno burst out from the pool in his phoenix form and kicked Diabolos in the stomach. The Dark Astral went skidding back a few feet, his scythe falling from his hands, Reno went for another attack._

"_You can't defeat me!" Diabolos shouted as Ardyn's body burst into purple flames, starscourge pouring out his body, huge bat-like winged brust out from behind his back. With a single flap on his wings, a huge purple wall of fire headed towards Reno._

_Reno grunted as he shielded himself with his wing the flames passed him and headed towards Somnus. He dove down, he used his body to block the flame._

"_AHHH!" he shouted at his body engulfed in purple flames._

**…**

In the present Reno started to feel the burning sensation, Somnus saw that he was about to pause his memory but guardian spoke, "No go ahead, this is nothing!" he said, his hands turning into a fist, "I can take it, just finished it already!"

The founder King nodded as his memory continued.

**...**

_The Phoenix felt on his knees, half of his body is now burned, he gasped at the pain._

"_Reno!" He went beside him, "Are you okay?"_

"_I'm fine, where is Cally, where is the ring?" he asked while gasping._

"_I'm Here!" Carbuncle appeared before them, in her mouth the ring of the Lucci._

_Before the Guardian could give the ring to him, Diabolos with his scythe in hand suddenly appeared before them and swung it towards Reno's chest, the phoenix was able to block it with his talons but it sent him towards one of the pillars yet again. Carbuncle summoned another barrier, The Dark Astral swung the scythe down at the barrier. Before it cracks again Carbuncle gave Somnus the ring. The Champion of Bahamut was able to wear it before the barrier exploded on the impact of the scythe. It sent both Master and guardian skidding feet a few._

"_You're not going to win…"Diabolos said as he walked towards them, his massive wings trailed behind him, "Just accept your defeat and I will be merciful on you,"_

"_Never!" Somnus barked as he summoned his sword, the ring glowed in his finger._

_Diablos just chuckled, "Very well then you choose death," he spread his wings and raised his right hand into the air. Starscrouge started to gather above him, forming a huge black ball as Ardyn's body started to mutate._

"_No! You're not going to do that!" Carbuncle jumped towards him._

_Diabolos just hit her with his right-wing. The guardian went towards the pillar where Reno collided a while ago. She fell on the ground beside Reno and lost consciousness. _

"_Cally!" Somnus shouted before he could move. Diabolos's massive bat-like wing pinned him on the ground his sword slid away from his hand and as the Dark Astral brought the scythe's blade onto his neck. "Do you have any last words, Champion of Bahamut, before I end your life?" The champion just glared at him, he chuckled, "Very well then... die!" he raised the scythe into the air. _

_"NO!"_

_Somnus closed his eyes shut as he felt the blade of the scythe missed his head by an inch. He opened his eyes to see Diabolos clutching his head in discomfort as he backed away._

"_I won't let harm, my brother!" Ardyn's voice came out as he started to fight back and be in control again._

"_Somnus are you alright?"Aera went towards the fallen warrior and helped him rise to his feet he nodded weakly. They heard Ardyn screaming in agony they turned their attention to him._

"_Ardyn… my love…" Aera whispered as she walked towards him_

"_NO wait Aera, stop! it's not safe!" He tried to grab the Oracle's shoulder but he felt on his knees again._

_He saw how Ardyn fought for control as his body mutated back in being a human. _

"_Ardyn… I'm here for you...my love… fight him…" Aera went and hugged the thrashing Healer, "I know you can do it, my Love…"_

_The Healer's hands dropped to his side as Aera deepened the hug, "Aera…" he whispered. He saw Ardyn's eyes return to being blue as he hugged the Oracle back. _

_The Founder King is about to rise when he saw a smirk appear on Ardyn's lip and his eyes turned yellow again. _

_Aera caressed his face, "Ardyn my lov-"_

"_NO!" The champion of Bahamut shouted as he saw Ardyn's sword pierced the Oracle in the chest._

_The Oracle gasped as she slid down. She was able to sit on her knees, "Ardyn…" she grabbed his right hand which held the sword as it started to tremble, "Fight him… my love, I know you can… don't let your light fade…" with Aera's trembling voice, she was able to get through to Ardyn and the Healer was able to be in control again._

"_Aera!" he crouched down and cradled her, "Why did you do that? Don't worry...I'm going to…"_

_The Oracle touched his cheek and with her last breath she looked up to his eyes, "I love you Ardyn…" Aera gasped one last time her hand felt from the Healer's face as she passed away._

"_NO!" Ardyn screamed as he cried, his tears turning into black liquid "NO!" he shouted as he rose to his feet, he turned towards his brother who was shocked at what happened, "Kill me!" Somnus do it right now!"_

_The younger brother snapped from being shocked and pointed the sword towards him._

"_Kill me now! Before he can be in control again," Ardyn shouted as the starscourge started to pour out his eyes and mouth again. _

_Somnus took a deep breath and lunged forwards before he could attack Ardyn. A ring of purple flames appeared around the Healer. The Mystic jumped back to avoid being burnt. Ardyn shouted again and clutched his head._

"_Brother!" He shouted._

"_AAHHHHH!" Ardyn shouted all his might at the purple flames engulfed him yet again. _

_The Founder King can't do anything but watch as the flame dies down. As the flames disappeared he saw Ardyn just standing there motionless._

"_Brother…" he slowly walked toward him._

_Ardyn suddenly summoned the scythe and attacked him. He was able to avoid it and pointed his sword at him again knowing that Diabolos took over again. _

_Diabolos started to chuckle as Ardyn's blue eyes turned yellow again, "Foolish women… to think she can still help a warrior of light who's now fallen into darkness," he smirked at the body of the Oracle at his feet, "Pathetic…" he kicked her body, The Mystic was able to catch it._

_Diabolos just laughed as he saw Mystic slumped down on the floor with the Oracle's body, "See champion of Bahamut, you can't win against me…" he turned around to look at the Crystal, "Oh.. Draconian where are you?" he started to walk towards the throne, "Your champions are no more… your light is fading, why not come down and face me brother!" he summoned his scythe and leaped towards the crystal and about to attack it._

"_NO!"Somnus shouted as he rose to his feet._

_As the blade of the scythe collided with the crystal it deflected Diablos's attack with a blinding light and the Daemon was thrown down the stairs. _

_He growled as he rose to his feet._

_Somnus gasped as he felt the ring start to burn as the crystal started to glow brightly._

"_NO!" Diabolos hissed and went to attack him, suddenly the purple flames around them burst into crimson and azure. It blinded the Dark Astral and he stumbled back. He hissed as he shielded his eyes, suddenly the flames formed into chains and wrapped onto his arms and legs, stopping him from moving._

_The champion of Bahamut was still gasping as he held his trembling hand as the ring absorbed the light of the Crystal of Bahamut._

_He heard Diabolos howls, he looked at him, his eyes widened as he saw Astraea's spirit behind the Daemon. Astraea crimson eyes gazed at him, _

"_Astraea…"_

"_I'll hold him down, continue to absorb the light, brother!" she said as her chain became larger and thicker burning the Dark Astral._

_He held his right hand with the ring of his finger as it absorbed the light around him. He gasped for its burning him from the inside and out it started to weight him down he felt onto his knee clutching his hand which held the ring of Lucii. Then time stopped around him then he felt someone held his arm. He slowly turned to see it and saw Ardyn spirit smiling at him._

"_You can do it Sommy... I believe in you…" he helped his younger brother to his feet, "Here I give you my light," Ardyn held Somnus's hand with his own._

"_Brother... I can't… do this…." he said as he started to cry._

_Ardyn just sighed, touched his cheek, with his free hand, and wiped the tears away, "Sure you can…" he said softly as his last light went into the ring. He let go of his hand and stood back, "Just make sure to hit the mark," Ardyn smiled at him and pointed at his heart, "End this Somnus so we can be free."_

_He just nodded slowly as he felt the ring with its full power._

_Ardyn chuckled, "That's it… give it, your all, brother!" his spirit faded and time resumed._

_He saw Reno, Carbuncle, and Gilgamesh in their feet looking at him in astonishment as his body glowed blue. He nodded at them then he turned his attention towards Diabolos who is still thrashing and howling in pain. _

"_This ends now, Diabolos!" he summoned his sword, the light form ring went towards the weapon and it glowed brightly._

_The Dark Messenger stopped moving and gazed at him and looked at his eyes. His yellow eyes don't show any emotion, not fear, nothing... he smirked at him._

_He pointed his sword at him, "You darkness ends here!" Before Diabolos could speak, The Champion of Bahamut wrapped and pierced him in the heart. The blade went through his body, black blood dripping off the edge of his sword towards the marble floor. He howled in pain as the light engulfed his body._

"_AHHHH!" Somnus shouted as he pushed the blade deeper, the light from his body went towards the sword and Diabolos. With his final scream Diabolos' spirit burst out from Ardyn. It stumbled back clutching his heart, "This is now over yet… champion of Bahamut,"_

_Diabolos spirit burst into pure light, black smoke went towards the opening of the dome, it scattered in the air before disappearing._

"_Sommy…"_

_The Founder King took a deep breath as he heard the soft voice of his brother, he gazed at his eyes, to see his brother's brown eyes, the eyes they inherited from their mother._

_Ardyn was smiling at him, he held his trembling hand and caressed his face, "You did it Sommy… you kill Diabolos…" _

"_Brother!" he sniffed as he drew his sword from Ardyn's body as he backed away, it felt from his hand and clanged onto the marble floor before disappearing, "I'm sorry…" he said as he gazed at him._

_Ardyn shook his head at held his hand into his chest to stop it from bleeding, "No.. don't say that… you did it, you fulfill your calling," he smiled at him lovely, "Now it's time to fulfill our promise," He chuckled as he coughed blood._

"_Brother…" He went to him as Ardyn felt on his knees, "There is still time, we can still heal you,"_

_The Healer just shook his head again and touched his face, Somnus's tears are now flowing, "I'm sorry we are going without…" he said softly, "Sommy can you do one thing for us… Me and Astraea…"_

"_Yes… what... is...it?" he stammered_

_Suddenly Astraea spirit appeared before them with Ardyn's last strength they shared a deep hug._

"_Watch the sunrise for us…" Astraea and Ardyn both whispered into his ear. Before he could break the embrace Astraea spirit disappeared and Ardyn took his last breath._

_He held his breath as he heard those last words, he slowly laid Ardyn down and rose to his feet and backed away from his brother's body. He gazed around the darkroom as the flames around them died down. The only light was the faint light coming from the crystal even with the dim light he saw the carnage. He looked around and saw the spot where the three of them made the promise that they will watch the sunrise together. His tears started to fall as he heard Astraea's song inside of the head, (Final Fantasy XIII - "Promise" - Serah's Theme | ENGLISH ver | AmaLee) As the song continued to play inside his head he gazed at the far end of the room where Rosa was still holding Astraea's body. _

_Let my wish come true, _

_Let darkness fade to light_

_Then he turned towards Reno, he was with Carbuncle and Gilgamesh and they were beside Aera's body. He then turned toward the crystal, after a few seconds of silence he saw a glimpse of it, the light coming from his right. He slowly turned towards it, towards the sea where the sun was rising for the first time in four years. _

_Will we live to greet the dawn?_

_As the sun's rays lit up the room around him, His body quivered as he saw it and Ardyn's face was serene and smiling in his last moment. _

_Love will not leave you_

_Hate will not heal you_

_Astraea's voice continues to echo inside his head._

_Promise me one day... _

_that peace shall reign_

_He remembered how they laughed that day and his siblings' smiling faces. He gazed at his trembling hands as he remembered their last words to him._

"_Watch the sunrise for us…" _

_He turned towards the sunrise and he tried to look at it but his tears won't stop falling, he couldn't take it anymore. He fell to his knees and screamed at the top of his lungs in agony, sorrow, pain, and anger. He put his trembling hands covered his eyes as he wailed uncontrollably, his cries could be heard all over the palace with that his memory faded._

**…**

Because of how strong the emotion of the memory was, a small crack appeared in the memory sphere. Nobody saw it because they were too distraught for what they saw. Regis was the most affected, he clutched his heart as he leaned down his cane fell from his hands. Clarus went to his side and helped the King and gave him back his cane. Aerith could not take it anymore, seeing the death of her adopted daughter, she leaned and buried her face in Dave's shoulder as she cried in silence. Dave comforted her while trying not to cry. The Marshall was affected but he was able to keep a straight face, but his hands were shaking so he turned them into a fist as he gazed at his King. Just like him, Clarus was not very affected, he was comforting King Regis who's had difficulty breathing. Clarus rubbed circles in the back of the monarch to help him calm down. After a few minutes, they were able to pull themselves together, Clarus gave a glass of water to Regis and The king thanked him for his help. Dave and Aerith did the same, they drank the water offered by Reno who was not showing any emotion. After making sure that the king was alright the Shield turned his attention towards the Founder King, who just sat there without any reaction whatsoever.

"Why are you like that?" Clarus asked, "Are you not affected?" Clarus raised his voice because of the mixed emotion and seeing his king's suffering, The shield can't stop himself from glaring at the warrior, "Are their death means nothing to you? Why can you show any emotion, Founder King?!"

Founder King slowly turned his gaze at him, his eyes dulled and empty, Carbuncle jumped towards the coffee table to give the founder King room to talk before he could speak Reno interjected.

"But of course, he will have no emotion left, after all, this is not the first time he watched his memory." All turned towards the guardian who now stood beside the Founder King's chair, his wounds now slowly healing. Somnus sapphire eyes glanced up to him, Reno saw this and sighed, "Oh… come on… do you think I did not know?"

"Knew what?" Regis asked while looking at Founder King.

"Well Somnus here…" he trailed off as he put a hand on the warrior' shoulder, "Has been watching his memory of the past two thousand years. Every time the anniversary of their death comes he will rewatch his memory not only of their death but Solheim's destruction as well." he looked down at the former king. Somnus averted his gaze and looked down at his feet. The Guardian continued, "He keeps torturing himself by watching their death over and over again. That is what our founder King has been doing for the past two thousand years, making his life miserable. That is the reason why he is not affected by this anymore…how could he? Watching your loved one die more than a thousand times can truly numb you from the pain, right, Your Majesty?"

Somnus just kept his head down and crossed his finger together, "I need to…" he paused, "I need to remember them, that the only I can do after all I have done,"

Reno huffed, "Oh please! Somnus, can you stop it already!" he went in front of him, "You need to stop blaming yourself for their deaths!" The founder King raised his gaze towards him, "You need to forgive yourself already!"

"But...I… killed them… they lost their life because of me…" he lowered his head again.

"You did not! Astraea gave her life for Eos...for you… her family, just like Ardyn. They fulfilled their calling and you fulfilled yours. It is the destiny of the Warriors of light. No one ever blames you for their death and you should not blame yourself please Somnus… it's time to move on…" Reno put his hands on the warrior's shoulder and squeezed it gently, "Please… stop torturing yourself, you don't deserve it. You did what you have to do… you followed your fate, your destiny…So please stop this already… Astraea and Ardyn will not be happy to see you like this, stop blaming yourself already," the guardian gave him a sincere look.

The founder King gazed up, opened his mouth then closed it and gazed at his feet again.

Carbuncle seeing the hesitation and doubt in the eyes of her former master she decided to enter the conversation, "Reno is right Somnus," her master gazed at her, "You're not the reason for their death you have nothing to repent. So please...master, move on…" she jumped to his lap and gazed up to meet his eyes.

"Cally…" the warrior patted her on the head, she nuzzled her snout on his hand, "I can't… not until I correct what I did wrong,"

"But you did nothing wrong," Regis said as he stood up and walked towards the founder King. Reno gave way to him and stood aside, "What I saw is that you gave it your all Somnus, even how painful it is you fulfilled your calling. If I stood where you stood back then, I might not be able to do what you did but even with a heavy heart you still fulfilled your calling and that very courageous of you… the title of Founder King and Mystic suits you. So please take your family advice and forgive yourself already," Regis patted him on the right shoulder, "Always remember we are here for you, let us share your burden,"

Somnus's sapphire eyes gazed at the King's emerald ones as they shared a few moments of silence. Then out of nowhere, the Mystic chuckled. All were surprised by the sudden action of the founder King. Carbuncle looked at Reno, the guardian just shrugged his shoulders and gazed at the still laughing warrior. Regis took a step back and glanced back at his people all of them have shared a confused look. Somnus finally stopped laughing and gazed at the founder King.

"You sounded like my Brother, Regis…" he paused to take a breath, "He always said those words to me, he inherited it from our father… The Izunia's have always had a positive view of life, even how dark the future may be… I should never forget about that…Looks like the legacy of the Izunia never did fade...Thank you, Regis," he nodded at his direction then he turned towards Crimson guardian, "Thank you Reno… for always being there for me, after all those years you never left me and remained by my side,"

"But of course…" Reno smiled, "We are family after all,"

Somnus smiled back and then turned his attention to his former guardian, "Cally..."

"Yes… master?" The fox guardian ears perked up.

"Thank you… for being my guardian," he gently scooped her and hugged gently.

Carbuncle just purred as she nuzzled her head towards her former master shoulder, "Your Welcome...Master, just what the King said, we are here for you,"

The warrior nodded and put her down and gazed at the other. They all nodded and bowed to him to show their respect.

"Sorry about my rude comment Founder King," Clarus said, not raising his head.

"You don't have to apologize, Clarus,"

"But still I went too far, Your Majesty… you have suffered for much and for me to act like that towards you is unforgiven… so please punish me, Your Majesty," he took a knee and lowered his head in front of founder King,

"Clarus…" Regis looked at his shield as he stepped back.

Somnus let out a resigned sigh, he stood up "Well then, Clarus Amicitia, for your punishment for disrespecting me for now on… you have to call me by my first name, No more your Majesty or founder King just Somnus… after all, I'm not you king, and just like Regis said," he paused and glanced at the King, "We are family," he held the hand towards the King's shield.

Clarus's eyes widened and raised his head and looked at the Founder King he saw his extended hand and his smiling face. With hesitation he took it and rose to his feet, "Reno is right, you're stubborn as the Princess… Yo-" Somnus's face frowned, he noticed it and paused and took a deep breath, "Somnus…"

"But of course, I am still an Izunia by birth and our family is the most stubborn of them all," he smiled.

"You said it," Clarus chuckled and glanced at Regis, "Now I know where His Majesty and His Highness get their stubbornness from."

"I second that…" Cor raised his hand, "I've been serving the King since my teenage years. I can testify how stubborn King Regis can be,"

Regis's eyes widened to hear the comments of his shield and the Marshall.

"Hey Clarus, remember how His Majesty crashed the Regalia after leaving the Crown city?" he turned towards the shield.

"How can I forget, we pushed the car for hours. He won't listen to us, not only that the King was a reckless driver back then. I did not say anything back then but I feared for my life when His Majesty on the wheel " The Shield chuckled followed by the Marshal.

"Can you call yourself my royal retinue," Regis scoffed at them.

Regis, Cor, and Clarus gazed at each other then burst out laughing. Somnus and the two guardians joined them eventually. While the two hunters just sat with their shock expression.

"Well I never thought I would see the king laugh like that," Dave whispered to Aerith.

The hunter just nodded, "Your right…it very weird seeing them like this,"

Both siblings looked at each other. After all of those years of being Hunter and helping King Regis to eliminate the daemon at night. They never did see the King laugh or even smile. The King and his people are always so serious and seeing them like this, is a nice change of phase. So they decided to join in and laughed.

After pulling themselves altogether, Clarus went and helped Regis to his seat again. While The Mystic just stood beside Reno.

"So…" Reno eyed the founder King, "Are you still going to torture yourself Somnus or you're going to move and forgive yourself already?"

The warrior gazed at him and smiled sadly, "I can't promise you that, Reno after all it's hard for me," he took a seat, "They are my everything Reno. How about you? How did you move on just like that? Astraea is very special to you, she treated you like a brother. How did you move on after her death like that,"

"I did not…" Reno took a deep breath and sat down on the floor and crossed his legs and arms, "Just like you, I mourned for them and I blamed myself for years. But blaming myself and mourning for them year after year won't bring them back, so I decided to move on, it was Astraea last wish after all,"

"Reno is right Somnus," Cally said, "We need to move on if Astraea were here she will say to us to _Leave the past, live the present, create the future,"_

"Your right… I need to forget about the past… and look forward to the future," Somnus nodded, "Now then let us now face the future and help the Warriors of Light and Champions of The Astrals to defeat Diabolos."

"That's right! We need to be positive we will defeat Diabolos this time for good!" Reno bellowed.

The three nodded at each other. A few moments later Aerith asked a question.

"So that means… Diabolos survived back then? How and why?"

Somnus hopeful eyes changed into distraught as the cheerful presence around them disappeared. Aerith noticed how suddenly his expression changed, she quickly apologizes to him, "I'm sorry, I did not mean to ask,"

"No it's okay, but before I answered your question let me first tell you what happened after the death of my siblings." A long silence ensued, with a deep sigh Somnus continued, "After the death of my beloved Siblings, Reno did tell me all about what Astraea said to him, about the future she saw and why she sacrificed herself and Reno revealed to everyone about the pact we made with Bahamut. Ardyn and I and the reason why I acted like that night. With that people forgive all my wrongdoing after all the whispers inside of me are the ones who made me do all of it or maybe they felt sorry for me… so after two days, they decided to crown me as their king, Somnus Lucis Caelum, The Founder King of Lucis... but I should not have the titled after all Ardyn was the Chosen King, not me, I just replace him as Founder King of Lucis."

All felt silence as the sphere started to glow and showed another memory of the Founder King.

**…**

_There were inside the throne room he was sitting at the throne while the people around them shouted his name._

"_Hail The King!" shouted one of the soldiers, "Hail Somnus Lucis Caelum, the King of Lucis!"_

_The people followed and shouted his name._

_Somnus tried to block all the sound as he gazed at the center of the room. He saw a flashback of him, dealing the finishing blow to Diabolos. Astraea last words to him. He shook his head to erase those horrible memories._

"_Your Majesty…"_

_He could hear someone call his name but he was too deep in his memory that he decided to block it. The memory of that horrible night continued to plague him. His body started to shake, he turned his hands into a fist which he laid in the armrest of the throne. _

"_Somnus..." A hand on his shoulder made him wake up from his nightmare._

_He looked to his side to find the Blade master, Gilgamesh. He was in full armor, with one arm missing. Even with his mask, he could see the concern in Gilgamesh's eyes, "Are you alright? Your Majesty,"_

_Somnus nodded weakly and gazed at the people in front of him, they stopped cheering and were looking at him in a worried expression._

_With a deep sigh, the King rose to his feet and addressed his people._

"_People Of Lucis is an honor to serve you as King… but don't forget the people who made it possible for us to be here. The people who sacrificed their lives for us to see the sun again," he turned towards the blue clear sky he gulped trying not to cry, "It's them that we need to honor, The people of Solheim, our people, our love ones... don't forget about them and don't forget about the others who fought with us in defeating the darkness. This victory doesn't belong to us but it belongs to the whole world. It belongs to the people of Eos."_

_The people cheered and clapped._

"_For that let us honor their names, hail Lady __**Aera Mirus Fleuret the, **__The Oracle!"_

_The people followed._

"_Hail! Princess Astraea Lucis Izunia, The Fire Maiden!"_

_The people cheered the Princess's name with tears in their eyes._

_Somnus saw that the people started to cry. He straightened up and with a deep breath he shouted, "Hail Ardyn Lucis Caelum, The Healer of the People… The True King of Lucis!"_

The people roared and cheered. He closed his eyes slowly and he opened it again and looked down at the bottom of the stair, his eyes widened as he saw their spirit. Aera, Ardyn, and Astraea were smiling at him.

"_**Hail our King, Somnus Lucis Caelum..." **__They all said in unison as they bowed their heads at him. _

_He started to go down but Ardyn held a hand towards him and smiled, __**"Go live your life Somnus…" **_

"_**Take care of our people, Sommy…"**__ Astraea said while smiling. _

"_**Do take care, your Majesty…"**__ Aera added. _

_The King nodded and as a single tear trailed down on his face._

_The three smiled one last time as their spirit faded._

_With that his memory stopped, the sphere turned off and on again to show another memory._

**...**

_The people are all gone, Somnus is standing where they made their promise years ago. He gazed at the horizon, the blue sea was calm and the water was glistening under the sun's rays. He felt someone stood beside him and saw the captain._

"_I hope I did the right thing, Gilgamesh," he said a low voice, his gaze not leaving the sea before him._

"_I'm sure they are proud of you, Your Majesty…" the captain went to his side and put a hand on his shoulder, "You finished their fight and brought them peace. Your parents… your people and your siblings will be proud of you… just like before, I will offer my service to you, Somnus Lucis Caelum… just like what I did to your father I will be your shield if you're willing to take me…" Gilgamesh took a knee and held his head down._

_He turned to him and smiled bitterly, "It will be an honor to have you as my shield, Gilgamesh," _

_The shield smiled back and rose to his feet, "It's an honor to serve you as while, Your Majesty," _

_The king nodded and turned his attention back to the sea, "Is the funeral rite ready?"_

"_Yes, The Princess and Lord's body are ready for the pyre,"_

"_And the Oracle's?" _

"_They ask if they can bury her body in their homeland,"_

"_Okay, gave them what they need and let our soldiers company them back into their homeland, that the only thing we can do,"_

_Gilgamesh nodded, "Okay, I will see to it. Where do you want the funeral pyre to take place?"_

_The king turned to him, "Solheim…"_

"_The disk?"_

"_Yes… I want to send them into the afterlife in our homeland,"_

_The shield bowed, "As you wish, Your Majesty, I will prepare the arrangements,"_

"_Thank you, Gilgamesh… so, where are they? I want to see them,"_

"_They are a temple of Bahamut,"_

"_Okay then let us go and see them,"_

_Both of them went to the temple of Bahamut. Gilgamesh opened the door for the King. Somnus stepped in to find Reno wearing an all-white tunic and pants, sitting beside Astraea body._

"_Reno…"_

_The crimson guardian stood and bowed to him, "Your Majesty…"_

"_Please don't do that… you don't have to bow to me and why are you here?" he walked towards him and looked at Astraea's body covered in white cloth._

"_Well, Astraea did order me to serve you so I will be your second guardian for now on, Your Majesty,"_

"_Astraea did that?" he asked as he raised the cloth and looked at his sister's face. The princess's face was serene like she was just sleeping, he gently brushed her cheeks, "Even if death she still worry about me, I hope she finds peace,"_

"_She already found it, she with your parents now, I know she happy, and Lord Ardyn as well, he is with Aera now and living peacefully in the afterlife,"_

"_I hope you're right Reno…" He said as he covered Astraea again. Then he went towards his brother. Just like Astraea, Ardyn's face was peaceful and while wearing his healer robe._

_'Guide me, brother…'_ _He thought as he covered Ardyn with the cloth._

_Suddenly they heard the bell ring, signaling an important person had arrived. He looked at Shield and the Guardian, just like him they are bewildered who's the person is. A soldier went in and greeted him with a bow._

"_Your Majesty, Lady Ashelia had arrived and she is waiting for you in the throne room,"_

_He gulped hearing that, but he was able to compose himself and walked towards the door and went to the throne room. _

"_Stay here, I want to talk to Lady Ashelia alone," he said to Gilgamesh._

_The shield bowed and guarded the door behind him._

_With a deep breath, he opened the door to find Ashelia standing at the foot of the stair and looking at Bahamut Crystals._

"_Lady Ashelia what are you doing where? Are you here for the Oracle's body?"_

_Ashelia turned to him, she was wearing the same dress as the former Oracle, her distant cousin, "Your Majesty…" she bowed, "I am here for you, My king…"_

"_For me?" he raised an eyebrow as he stopped in front of her._

"_Yes…" she lowered her head, "Bahamut had appeared to me and gave me his blessing to be your Oracle,"_

"_My Oracle?"_

_She nodded and gently caressed his face with her right hand, "Yes, just like what Lady Aera had served Lord Ardyn. I will be here to serve you, Your Majesty, so please let me share your burden and pain, My King," she smiled bitterly at him._

"_Thank you Ashelia but please don't call me that...just call me by my name, please… Ashe…." he hugged her._

_Ashelia was shocked at first but she returned the hugged and gently brushed him in the back, "As you wish… Somnus…"_

_The king could not hide it anymore and he cried silently into her shoulder. The new Oracle just continued to rub circles in king's back as she comforted him._

_After a few minutes of silence between them, Ashelia spoke in a sad tone, "I'm sorry for your lose, Somnus and I know you still in pain but I bear grave news from the Draconian,"_

_He broke the embrace and looked at her in bewilderment before he could ask, an alarm bell was sounded._

_Gilgamesh burst through the door, "Your Majesty! Lord Ardyn, he is alive!"_

_The King's eyes widened to hear that, without thinking and even with Ashelia's protest he went running towards the temple to see it for himself. He arrived at the temple and saw that Ardyn is alive. The healer was sitting in silence, his gaze focused on the ground._

"_Brother…" he cried as he walked towards him, "You're alive!" But Before he could reach him, Reno went in front of him and stopped him. He could see Reno's fingers turned into talons, his blue eyes glaring at his brother, "Reno, what is wrong?"_

"_It's, not him…" the guardian hissed as he cracked his talons ready to attack._

"_What are you saying it's Ardyn, so stand aside!"_

_He passed the Crimson guardian and went to his brother's side, "Wait Somnus!" Reno called his name._

"_Brother…" _

_He tried to reach for the healer, suddenly Ardyn stood up and summoned his sword and swung it at him. He was caught off guard and had no time to evade lucky Carbuncle appeared and summoned a barrier around him. He fell on his butt and gazed at his brother. Ardyn pupils were black his iris bright yellow, starscourge pouring out his eyes and mouth. _

_The Healer was screaming, "I'm going to kill you SOMNUS!" Ardyn raised his sword again, but Reno and Gilgamesh tackled him and pinned him on the ground. His brother was still screaming when Lady Ashelia started to chant. Suddenly chains appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around Ardyn's body. It started to glow brightly Ardyn hissed and screamed as it was burning him. The chain started to show cracks within seconds; it broke as the starscourge brust from Ardyn's body. Reno and Gilgamesh were thrown a few feet. With a howled Ardyn went to attack Somnus again. The King was on his feet again and without thinking he summoned his sword he avoided Ardyn's attack and pierced the Healer in the heart again. Ardyn's body fell beside him. With that, his memory faded._

**…**

The whole room gasped in what they saw. Somnus just lowered his gaze again. Reno hissed and crossed his arm. Carbuncle tucked herself in her fur and sat silently at the founder King's lap. The room fell into a deep silence once again, all of them were looking at each, waiting for anyone to ask the question. Clarus saw that nobody was willing to speak and so cleared his throat and asked.

"What happened?" he glanced at the founder King. Somnus remained silent, then he turned to Reno just like the Warrior the Guardian remained silent.

"I will answer your question, Sir Clarus," Carbuncle spoke up and jumped towards the coffee table. She glanced at his former master before speaking.

With a deep breath, the guardian explained to them about what the new Oracle had said to them back then. Lady Ashelia had explained to them that Somnus was not able to kill Diabolos completely for a piece of him still lingered inside Ardyn's. Making the Healer immortal and that they need to wait for the King of Light to be born into the line of Lucis. That Ardyn is still under Diabolos' control and he still has daemons inside of him.

"Wait so that means Diabolos surv-"

"Yes" Somnus did not let Aerith finish her sentence and interrupted her, "Your right Aerith, Diabolos did survive, for I failed…" he gazed at his hands, "For my light was not strong enough to kill him,"

"No…" Reno interjected, "You're at it again, Sommy," He gave him a disappointing look, "Your light was strong but Diabolos darkness is just stronger, after all, he was hiding in the shadow while you three kept fighting. Not only that... did you remember what Lady Ashe... I mean her majesty, said that Bahamut himself also said that his light is weak and Crystal of Light back then was still recovering and can't truly give you its true strength."

"You're saying?" The founder King asked him.

"I'm saying that you were not destined to kill Diabolos back then, your destiny was to just weaken him and seal him away. But you did destroy the starscourge and returned the light on Eos."

"Have you forgotten Reno, I didn't do it by myself, if I remembered it correctly Astraea is the one who eliminated the scourge. It was her flames that destroyed the darkness, not me or my light..."

The crimson Guardian sighed, "Yes, Astraea did it, but have you forgotten it already you finished her task. You save your brother and gave them both peace,"

"Is that what you called saving Reno? Ardyn is still under Diabolos's control and Astraea death is for nothing,"

"For nothing!" Reno bellowed and stood up and grabbed Somnus in the collar, "I said stop leaving in the past already Founder King!" he shouted at him.

"Reno!" Carbuncle shouted, "Stop this! Somnus has already suffered enough!"

Reno's eyes soften remembering what the founder king almost did and released his hold while the sphere started to show his memory.

…

_That night Reno went to the King's chamber to see how he was doing. His eyes widened to see Somnus sitting on his bed holding Astraea's ruby dagger above his heart._

"_Somnus!" he went and ran to his side and yanked the dagger away from his hand, "What are you doing!"_

"_Give me that Reno!" Somnus stood up, "I failed them! I don't have the right to live to let me die!" _

_Hearing the warrior's words anger took control and Reno punched him in the jaw. The King stumbled on the bed and looked at him. _

_Reno hissed at him, "You want to die sure here to ahead kill yourself!" he threw the dagger on the bed, "Just prepare yourself to see Astraea and tell her how you failed her, how you abandoned Ardyn and our people and choose the easy way out. You want to see her right? so go ahead kill yourself already! Just prepared to see her face full of disappointment! Founder King,"_

_Somnus sat up and grabbed the dagger. He hovered the crimson blade onto his heart again._

_Carbuncle suddenly appeared beside him and tried to stop him, "Don't stop him, Cally," Reno barked at his fellow guardian, "Let him have his way, just don't blame us if Astraea will get mad at you after you meet in the afterlife. All their sacrifice will be wasted because you Somnus, that you choose to stop fighting and fully surrender yourself into darkness so go ahead kill yourself already!" _

_The fox Guardian just stared at his master as Somnus' hands started to shake. With a shaking hand he tried to push the dagger but he couldn't do it, he broke down and fell on his knees, the dagger fell out from his hand._

_Carbuncle took a sigh of relief and gazed at her master in silence as the Champion of Bahamut continued to cry in agony and grief._

"_I don't know what to do anymore Reno… Cally...I lost everything, I can't do this without them…" he gazed at his trembling hands, "I thought I could move on knowing that I brought them peace but I was wrong I failed them, Diabolos is still alive, Ardyn is under his control and Astraea death was for nothing…"_

_Reno wanted to scream at him, but he remembered Astarea's last wish to help him and be at his side, he sighed deeply letting his anger fade out, "Astraea death is not for nothing, Somnus and you knew that…'' The king gazed at him, his eyes were swollen from crying too much, "You need to continue in living, you need to continue to fight for them, for brother's sake,"_

_Reno is right Somnus, __Don't ever give up. Even if it's painful, even if it's agonizing, don't try to take the easy way out,__" the fox guardian jumped into his shoulder and nuzzled her head in the cheek of her master. "We are here for you," she whispered._

_Reno helped him to his feet and put two reassuring hands into his shoulder, "Cally is right, We will help you go through with this Somnus… you must survive, for your bloodline will be the key to defeat Dark Astral. So please stand strong and continue you on the path to recovery."_

"_How…?" Somnus's voice broke, "How can I move on?"_

_Reno withdrew his hands and picked up Astraea's dagger, "First we need to send Astraea into the afterlife, then will we think of a way to help Lord Ardyn," he handed the dagger to him. "Can you do that Somnus? Can you send Astraea to rest?" _

_The founder King nodded weakly, "Your right… let us send Astraea into the afterlife first," he grabbed the dagger, "After that, we will find a way to help Ardyn."_

_Reno nodded, "Good, that the right way, You're the king now Somnus you should never show weakness,"_

_The warrior just nodded at him. With that, Reno's memory faded._

**…**

"Sorry about that…all I said and done..." Reno said as he took a step back away from the founder King.

"Don't be," Somnus arranged his collar and looked at Reno sincerely, "Your words help me Reno, if you did go there that night, I might have killed myself and put Eos in danger. So please don't apologize, I'm the one who should ask for an apology. I was about to waste Astraea's sacrifice, but you stop me and help me to move forward for that Reno, I thank you… Thank you for being there for me and serving Astraea until the very end," He lowered his head towards the guardian.

Reno was shocked at first and could not talk and a few seconds later he was able to regain composure, "No, do not thank me Somnus, after all, I'm doing my job as a guardian and that what family does, we help each other and always be there for one another," they both smiled sincerely at each other.

After making sure that everything is fine between the two. Regis with a heavy heart asked a question, "So what happened to Lord Ardyn? Did you able to send Astraea to the afterlife?"

Somnus turned to him, "Yes… the next morning we were able to send her to the afterlife. It's our tradition back in Solheim to send our dead using a pyre funeral. We did that on the island of Angelgard,"

"Why there?" Regis asked again.

"For Ardyn was imprisoned there. My brother was still able to take control over his body but the daemon inside of him kept on taking over. He tried to kill me again so we have no choice but to imprison him there. With the help of the new Oracle, we were able to seal him. Even with the daemon inside of him, Ardyn is still able to think properly and he requested to witness Astraea funeral as well so I granted that request. That the reason why we conducted the funeral rite on the island.

The sphere started to glow again and showed his memory.

**... **

_Somnus was standing in front of the pyre torch in hand in front of the stone prison. The people around him encircle the pyre kneeling with one knee heads bow down. He took off the cloth revealing Astraea body. He looks at her sister with sorrow and sadness. She looks peaceful like she is just sleeping. Her hair returned to being black and laid flat at each shoulder. Her body fits perfectly in the long red dress she wore during his last birthday. Her rapier and dagger laid across the length of her body holding it with both hands. The winged necklace is placed perfectly around her neck and blue ring in her finger and her tiara on her forehead. Somnus took a deep breath and touched her face using his free hand and murmured._

"_I'm sorry that it has come to this Astraea, I hope in time we see each other again," he shed a tear it fell on the necklace and it shimmered against the light rising sun, "Be at peace my sister" he backed up and raised the torch. _

"_Be a peace Astraea Lucis Izunia, our Princess… our Fire Maiden!" he declared and thrown that torch into the pyre setting it on fire. The pyre burst into a large inferno, obstructing Somnus' sight of her body. _

_With that, his memory faded and the sphere turned off completely_

* * *

**A/N:** What do you think about my thoughts about the founding of Lucis? How did Ardyn become the fable Adagium and the dark history of the founding of the kingdom of Lucis? I never thought my story would come this far and the story is now going in a direction I did not intend. But still, I hope you still enjoyed reading it.

I felt sorry for Somnus for putting him through all of that suffering, I hope he can forgive me… the next chapter will be the last segment of the **Recalling of the past** and how Astraea returned to the land of the living.

I don't know if my writing is alright and understandable. Don't have any comments about it so please can you give your comment or review but please be kind:) this is my first fanfic after all.

I am now having problems looking for quotes. I want to ask help from my lovely and faithful readers if you can give me quotes from your favorite Anime, Games, Books, or T.V Show quotes. That I can be put in my story, I will greatly appreciate it.

There will be future songs from Final Fantasy that I will put for the next chapters. _Final Fantasy X-2 - 1000 Words_, _Final Fantasy VII Remake - Hollow, Final Fantasy XII OST- Kiss me Good-Bye(Angela Aki) _and maybe _Final Fantasy Xlll My Hands. (Leona Lewis)._ I love all Final Fantasy OST. You can feel the emotions of the games and appreciate them more. You can request songs too just give me the title or link so that I can listen to and put in the future chapters.

Lastly, this chapter has a song dedicated to it for the fate/destiny of the siblings they can't escape and that is The Edge of Dawn by AmaLee. I will say it again AmaLee is a great singer and loved her song-covers!

THANK YOU! I hope you enjoy this and have a wonderful day and keep safe!


	28. Chapter 26

A/N: Some scenes and dialogue from FFXV Episode Ardyn - Prologue and Final Fantasy XV Episode Ardyn.

* * *

**Recalling of the Past: Waiting  
**_I will no longer live in the past. We must all look toward the future now.  
__-Cayenne Garamonde(Final Fantasy VI)_

* * *

Regis saw a single tear felt from Somnus right eye as he remained standing, he brushed it away so the others would not see it but they did but did not comment on it.

"So what happened after that? Are you able to help Lord Ardyn?" Aerith asked.

"Unfortunately no," Reno answered as he took a seat on the floor again, "We tried everything, but Diabolos grip on him was so strong that we need to keep him asleep, for if he wakes up Diabolos will take over again and spread the scourge yet again. Not only that Lady Ashe told us about a prophecy that Bahamut had given her, the prophecy about the King of Kings. A week after Somnus' Coronation," he paused as he glanced at the Founder King, Somnus remained silent, he just sighed and continued, "Bahamut had given Somnus a new calling to fulfill as the new king of Lucis and that is to con-"

"To continue the line of Kings…" Somnus interjected, all of them turned to him, he continued to gaze at his hands, "Bahamut had given me the task to continue our family bloodline, the Lucis Caelum bloodline. Even with a heavy heart, I accepted my new calling for it was in the prophecy that this King of Kings... The One True King, will be born into my bloodline. So I have no choice to move forward with my life without them, It was hard at first, but eventually, I was able to live my life again and it all thanks to Ashelia,"

"The new Oracle?" Aerith asked.

"Yes…" Somnus glanced at her, "Lady Ashelia Fleuret, the second Oracle of Bahamut, just like Astraea had said… she became my wife… The first queen of Lucis," a gentle smile appeared on his face.

"What was she like, if you don't mind me asking?

"Not at all Aerith…" Somnus replied as he took a seat, "Just like her cousin Aera, she is a benevolent person, but don't be fool by her appearance for Ashe is one fierce woman," he let out a soft chuckled, "I must admit we had feelings for each but after the War of the Astral and destruction of our homeland we became distant at each other and maybe because I was...no we were too busy fighting Diabolos and his darkness. After the death of my siblings, I wanted to spend my remaining time alone repenting for all my sins but Bahamut was another plan for me and made Ashe as my oracle. She is the one who is responsible for helping me to move on, her presence helped me in those dark days as I continue to mourn for the siblings. Our relationship grew from just being King and Oracle after a month we became a couple. Because of the prophecy and what Astraea had told us about our future... about our son. I got worried about the future of my unborn son. I don't want him to go through what I went through. After all, Diabolos is still alive and he might do the same things to my son as what we did to us. All those meaningless fighting, the suffering we went through, I don't want anyone to experience that... No one should ever experience the pain of watching your siblings die. So did a stupid thing...I was not thinking strength back then when I did that… for my emotion got the best of me…" he turned his hands into fists, "I did something horrible the put the entire Lucis Caelum's bloodline in a disadvantage,"

"Disadvantage?" Regis raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean by that, Somnus?"

Somnus sighed, "Remember what Reno told you about how The champions of the Bahamut have only one descendant every generation?" They all nodded, "I'm the one who did that, I put a curse on the entire Lucis Caelum's bloodline,"

The sphere suddenly turned on again and they all looked at the memory being projected.

**…**

_Somnus was standing in front of the Crystal of Light, the Ring of the Lucii in his middle finger in his right hand. With a deep breath held his hand up, the ring glowed with the crystal._

"_Crystal of Light! hear my call!" he declared, "Protect my line… My descendants let them not suffer nor experience the pain of losing a sibling...protect them from the grief and torment. I Somnus Lucis Caelum order you to curse my bloodline. No sibling shall be born into my line not until the death of the Dark Astral... obey my command!"_

_The Crystal of Light glowed brightly and engulfed him and the entire throne and second later it died down around him. He felt a burning sensation on his right wrist; he glanced at it and saw a symbol of the curse. (FF13 Bahamut summon symbol). It started to glow bright and burned him; he screamed as he fell to his knees. The last thing he heard is the door opening behind him and Lady Ashe voice shouting his name before he passes out,"_

**...**

Nobody was talking as his memory faded to black. Somnus saw the disbelief in their eyes. He noticed how Regis pulled down his sleeve to take a look at his wrist. He saw how the King's eyes widened as a faint symbol appeared, "Sorry about that…" he whispered.

Regis quickly covered his wrist gazed at him, "You don't have to apologize Somnus, you're just looking over your family and I fully understand and respect your decision, You right nobody should go thought what you been through,"

The Founder king just nodded as he looked down at his wrist the symbol appeared he traced it his left fingers, "I knew the curse was stupid and uncalled for and I put the entire line of Lucis Caelum in peril. I resent myself of that,"

"Don't be…" Reno smiled, "Your action was righteous Somnus, you just wanted your descendants to be free and safe from the pain you went through. So don't blame yourself and look your curse did help" he turned towards King Regis, "Your bloodline remained pure and produce a line of amazing Kings and Queens,"

Both Regis and Somnus eyes met and gave each other a respectful smile.

"But… still…" Reno trailed off as he put his arms behind his head, "You did give us a lot of work, imagine only one successor per regeneration. Cally and I had to work overtime to make sure your descendants won't get themselves killed, trust me it was hard,"

"I know Reno, you don't have to remind me," The Founder King let out a resigned sigh, "Because of your protection, the Lucis Caelum bloodline they manage to reach this far and point in time for that… I thank you for your faithful service, Messenger of Ifrits and Guardian of the Fire Maiden," he bowed to him.

"Oh…come now...Somnus, stop that..." Reno said as he put his hands on his knees, "As I told you a thousand times we are family… we have always each other back,"

"But still you did remain by my side even after what happened and after I forgot about h-" Somnus stopped himself from speaking as Reno's eyes signaled him to stop.

Regis noticed it and asked, "What is wrong? What happened, who did you forget Somnus?"

The Founder King and Guardian looked at each other waiting to see if one of them would answer the King's question. Reno just bit his lips and looked away with that Somnus took a deep breath and sighed loudly. "I will answer you question Regis…" he turned toward him.

The King just gave him a perplexed look but nodded.

Somnus opened his mouth to speak and suddenly Reno invaded his mind, _**"Don't tell them what happened!" **_he glanced down at the guardian who was still looking at the other way.

"_**Why?"**_

"_**Please Somnus... I don't want to relive that memory…not now… I can't take it… just create a fake one, please… I beg of you…"**_

Somnus could hear the sincerity in Reno's voice as he talked to him telepathically.

"_**Don't worry about it Reno, I don't want to see it either… I will create a fake one… just keep quiet and don't react to anything I about to say,"**_

Reno's eyes glanced at him giving him the go signal he nodded and continued.

"I did not just create one curse but two curses, my second curse of mine is more dreadful and unforgiven for it caused suffering towards my people and my homeland,"

"You mean Solheim and its people?"

"Yes, Regis… because the second curse I created had erased the real history of Solheim together with my siblings' entire existence,"

They all gasped at his remark, but he did not mind it and continued.

"After two months of my Coronation, I kept having nightmares every night," his eyes became dull, "Even in the day they kept haunting me, every time I sat on my throne I kept seeing flashes of what happened in that room. The sound of my sword piercing their bodies… the smell of their blood in my hands…" he raised his shaking hands, "They kept coming back… after days of nightless sleep, I could not take it anymore… I did a horrible thing again…"

"Somnus…" Regis whispered.

The Founder king's empty eyes gazed at him, "I did not mean that to happen…" his voice started to break, "I didn't mean to erase Ardyn and Astraea… I just wanted… to…"

"Somnus…" Reno spoke, their eyes met, "Just show it to us…"

The warrior nodded, the sphere glowed again.

**…**

_Somnus opened the door and entered the empty throne room, he staggered towards the throne. He stopped and gazed at his reflection on the pool. He looked exhausted, dark circles were visible under his sapphire eyes, his hair is a mess. He doesn't even recognize himself._

"_You call yourself a king…" he uttered bitterly at himself as he continued to walk towards the throne as he reached the middle of the room, where both of his siblings met their tragic end. He stopped abruptly as flashbacks of the hellish night came again. The scream of the people when his sword pierced Astraea's chest and Ardyn's screams begging him to finish him, echoed around him. He fell to his knees as he covered his ears for the phantom voice that kept coming._

"_Stop!" he screamed, "Please stop!" his tears started to fall as his body started to tremble. "Please…." the ring in his finger started to glow with the crystal he gazed at it and then at the crystal. Shakingly he stood up and staggered towards it. "Please… help me… let me forget about the night… let me forget about their suffering… their death…" he whispered, "ERASE IT ALL!" he shouted at the top of his lungs without thinking. He quickly covered his mouth as the ring started to glow brightly, "No… don't… I di-" suddenly the Crystal of Light produced a beam of light and started to expand; it consumed the throne and headed towards him. Somnus backed away as the light went towards, "NOO… DON-" before he could finish his sentence the light consumed him, then the entire throne room, then the whole palace and then the whole town. The pillar of light spread towards the rest of the word and consumed everyone with a blinding light._

_**... **_

"I was not trying to erase them, I just wanted to have a peaceful night sleep even just for once...but Crystal obeyed my command and erased their very existence and their memories… after the light died down nobody has any recollection who they are… _Astraea Lucis Izunia_ and _Ardyn Lucis Caelum_ have been erased in the minds of people not only on Lucis but the whole world of Eos,"

The room plunged into a deep and eerie silence as the sphere turned off again. They can't even think properly and say anything. With a deep breath, the founder King spoke.

"I did get my wish granted… after day I never had a nightmare and can finally sleep," he chuckled sadly, "After all, how could I… that memory of the hellish night never happened,"

"So what happened to Lord Ardyn?" Aerith reluctantly asked.

"My brother?" he turned towards her, "I did remember him but not as my brother but an enemy, the champion of Diabolos who tried to destroy Eos and tried to take the crystal. I remembered how I defeated him and imprisoned him on Angelgard and I'm the one who gave him the title _The Accursed_,"

"What about your parents, about Solheim, what happened to them?" Aerith asked again.

Somnus sighed, "It was erased too, after all, my siblings were a big part of our history,"

"And this is where this book came to play," Reno suddenly spoke up and put a copy of the Cosmogony book in the coffee table, "The fake history of Eos," he turned towards Somnus, "But I don't blame you Somnus, for what you have done, after all, like you I wanted to erase those painful memories too, you just went overboard with it," he gave him a gentle smile, "So please stop blaming yourself, after all, it been done and you can't do anything about it now, but to move on and maybe tell everyone what happened or try to destroy your curse,"

"We tried to... remembered while waiting for the King of light we tried to destroy my curse but just like the curse on my bloodline it remained until now,"

"Yeah…" Reno leaned back on his hands, "That was a long two thousand year of waiting and suffering…" he sighed deeply as he stared at the ceiling.

"Wait...why are you not affected by it Reno?" Regis asked.

"Me?" he asked as he sat up straight, "I was not affected by it because I was in the Astral plane back then so the curse did not reach me or maybe because I'm a messenger of Ifrit so the curse did not affect me,"

"How about you, Carbuncle? Did you get affected by it?" Regis asked.

"No…" she lowered her ears down.

"Really? Why did you say anything back then, Cally?" Somnus question.

"Well, just like you said, you've been plagued by nightmares back then, as your guardian, my only wish is to have a happy life. I knew it was wrong of me for hiding it but your life changed after the day. You become alive again and continue to live in peace and after a year you and _Ashe _got married. It was the happiest moment of your life and then _Prince Hope _was born. As your guardian, I don't want to take it away from you so I decided to hide the truth. So that those painful memories will never plague you again. After all, you became a great King to the people of Lucis, a loving husband to _Queen Ashe_, and a supportive father to _Prince Hope_. I don't want you to lose that, as your guardian I just wanted what was best for you. For that, apologize, Your Majesty," Carbuncle rose and bowed her head.

Her master just gave her a warm and gentle smile as he patted her on the head, "It's fine Cally, I did have a wonderful and happy life back then… you don't have to apologize, I'm just happy that you did not leave me and stood by my side,"

"Of course!" her ears perked up, "I'm your guardian after all and we are family! I will never leave you, I will always be loyal to you, Your Majesty until the end of time,"

"Wow…" Dave whispered, "It kinda nice to have guardians like them, who always got your back, you are really lucky to have them Somnus," he glanced at both guardians.

"Yes… they are…" The Mystic chuckled, "But for us, they are not just guardians and messengers of the Astrals but they are our extended family," he looked down and scratched Carbuncle's left ear. The fox guardian purred and nuzzled herself more in his body.

"So where were you Reno during that time?"

"Me... well…" The guardian looked at the Marshal as he put his hands on his crossed knees again and started to rock back and front, "Like a said the curse did not affect me so I still remembered Astraea's last wish,"

"Last wish?" Cor whispered.

"Yup… that I need to protect Somnus and his family. So I did that… I went back to Lucis even if nobody remembers me, after all, I was erased in people's minds together with Astraea's existence. I stayed near them in the shadow as the Founder King continued to rule the kingdom with peace and prosperity with his Queen and his only successor, _Hope Lucis Caelum_," he smiled at the Mystic, "I watched how the small Kingdom grew bigger and bigger under the peaceful reigned of the Founder King, after reaching a center point Sommy here decided to give it a new name and called it _Insomnia_ the heart of the Kingdom of Lucis…after 30 years long of peaceful life with his family, Somnus finally kick the bucket,"

"Wait? 30 years that make you 60 years old when you die, Somnus," Dave said while scratching his chin, "It's kinda early when you ask me,"

"Yes… it is," Carbuncle jumped towards the coffee table again and went in front of the leader of the hunters and sat down, her tail swaying slowly, "It kinda the effect of being the champion of Bahamut and his blessing," they all raised an eyebrow in question, the guardian saw this and explain to them about how the Lucis Caelum bloodline need to maintain the Crystal of Light, they need to share their life energy for the Crystal to maintain its light which causes their lives to be shortened.

"It sucks isn't it…" Reno muttered under his breath, "Well that the life being blessed by the Astrals you win some and you lose some, but still, the Caelum did never back down and keep moving, they are a stubborn family, am I right Sommy?" he smirked at him.

"Your part of this family too Reno," he retorted as he frowned at him.

"What the long face, it was a compliment, Your Majesty…" he laughed, "Being stubborn is what lead the Lucis Caelum to reach this far,"

"You have a weird way of giving compliments, Reno,"

"Are you still not used to me huh Sommy? It's our thousand years of being together with you are still giving the cold shoulder,"

"Maybe because you spend all your time looking and watching over her," he glanced at him, "I know you're her guardian in all but It's kinda creepy if you asked me,"

"Creepy?!" Reno bellowed, "I'm just doing my job! What about you? In the last two thousand years you never did visit her not even once and kept yourself prisoner inside your guilt, so much for a loving brother!" he scoffed.

The Mystic opened his mouth to retort but he decided to let it go and glanced away from the guardian's eyes. The guardian saw it and signed, "But all kidding aside Somnus, What you did back then was honorable, you should not blame yourself like I said a thousand of times, it was not your fault so stop blaming yourself already,"

The founder King's eyes darted towards him, Reno just gave him a short bow.

All the people around them just watched them in silence as they solved their bickering.

"You two are like brothers… always bickering," Dave uttered.

"But of course… we family after all," Reno chuckled while Somnus just sighed.

After a minute of silence, they continued Aerith was the first to speak and asked a question.

"What are you talking about a minute ago Reno, who are you watching?"

Both men's eyes softened as they looked at each other again, "Well are you going to tell them or I should?" Reno asked the Mystic.

"Let me..."

"Sure go ahead, Your Majesty, after you..." he bowed and playful, held his hand, and pointed at the sphere.

The Mystic just rolled his eyes and turned towards the others, "Sorry about that… where are we?"

"After your death, what happened? And who is this person you're talking about?" Regis asked.

"Well Dave was right, I died at the age of 60 and before I died warned _Hope_ about Ardyn and that he should never be allowed to wake up or to be set free for he is monster," he sighed, "I regretted that remark after all when I stepped up in the Astral plane all my memory came back and I got a shock of my life,"

They all gave him a confused look as the sphere lit up again.

**... **

_Somnus was on his deathbed, Prince Hope was on his right while his Queen Ashe was on the left, they both were holding his hands. _

"_Hope…" he whispered as he looked at his son._

"_Yes… father, I'm here," Hope squeezed his hand tight._

"_Take care of your Mother for me, okay?"_

_The prince nodded, Yes, father… I will…"_

_Then the dying King turned to his Queen, "Ashe my lovingly Queen,"_

"_Yes my love," Ashe whispered as she caressed his face._

"_Sorry for leaving you, but I promise we will meet in the afterlife, I will be waiting for you there my love," he smiled faintly._

_Ashe just smiled sadly as her tears started to fall, "Yes..my love… I will...rest now my dear King…" she kissed him in the forehead._

_Somnus nodded and slowly closed his eyes and when he opened it again he was surprised that he was not in his chamber anymore but he was in a bluish plane. He looked down at his body and saw his appearance changed back to being 30 years old. _

"_Sommy…"_

_He heard a faint female voice in the distance that was familiar to him but could not remember where he heard it before._

"_Brother…"_

_He started to follow it and walk for five minutes until he found a cave made of crystal. He slowly went inside it after a minute he arrived in the middle of it and saw a giant crystal glowing faintly. _

"_Somnus…" the voice called again from the inside._

_He went and stopped in front of it and examined it. He saw someone inside, a female with black hair and she was wearing a red long dress, his eyes darted towards the huge scar in her chest. His heart started to ache for no reason, as he continued to stare at the female. Looks like the female is just sleeping(Like what happened to Lucrecia Crescent Dirge of Cerberus: FF7 ). He slowly and carefully put his right hand on the crystal. That when it came all flooded back, his memory about his siblings. He fell to his knees gasping and panting as he clutched his chest. For he felt it again the pain and anguish as he recovered his memory._

"_Astr..eae…" he stammered as he tried to stand up his left hand still on the crystal. But his knees gave way and he fell again but someone caught him. He turned to see who it was and he saw a familiar face as certain red-haired._

"_Greetings Founder King… Long time no see... do you remember me now?" Reno smiled brightly at him._

"_Reno?" he asked as he tried to calm down. _

"_Good, you remembered, looks like the curse has been lifted" he helped him up. _

"_Curse? What cur-" he stopped as he remembered what he did 30 years ago. His eyes widened in the realization of what he had done, he started to shake, "Sorry...I did not mean that to happen… Reno I'm so sorry... I should not have done that…. Sorry... sorry…." Somnus kept repeating those words over and over again. "They will never forgive me…"_

_No… don't do that, Your Majesty," Reno cooed, "You don't have to apologize, they will understand... please calm down sit down," he gestured to him to take a seat in one of the crystal stumps. _

_The founder King sat down still looking at his sister inside the crystal, "What...happened, why is Astraea here I thought we sent her to the afterlife?" he asked again in confusion._

"_You did…" he glanced at the crystal and gently brushed it, "But she refused to move on after knowing what happened to Ardyn and she saw how miserable your life has become. She felt sorry for you so she pleaded towards the Astrals to gave her a second chance to live and to finish what she started,"_

"_So they gave her your life back?"_

"_Nope…" Reno shook his head, "They don't have the power to do that but a certain Goddess did...Etro h-"_

"_Etro?" he stood up, "The Goddess of Death. Etro?" _

"_Yup, the Goddess of Death herself appeared before your sister so she pleaded towards the Goddess and the kind goddess had given her a second chance but she has to sleep here and wait for the King of Light to be born,"_

"_Why?" Somnus asked as he touched the crystal._

"_Well to protect her and protect Ifrit's the Eternal flames…within her body,"_

_The Mystic withdrew his hand and turned towards the guardian, "Wait so she has to wait here until the said King of Kings is born?"_

"_Yup…" Reno said as gazed inside the crystal where Astraea is sleeping peacefully, "But don't worry she is safe here and Diabolos can't reach her here. But you can go now Somnus for you have fulfilled your calling, go now to the afterlife and take your needed rest... you earned it," he smiled._

"_No…" he shook his head, "I will not… Reno… I will stay here… let me talk to Bahamut" he turned his head towards the guardian with that his memory faded and the sphere turned off._

_**...**_

"As you see, Astraea was granted a second life for her fight is not over yet. So I decided to do the same…after all, Ardyn needed to be rescued and we still need to defeat Diabolos," he gazed at each one of them, "After I talked to Bahamut he granted me to stayed but not in the Astral plane,"

"So Where?" The king asked.

The Mystic eyes drifted towards the Ring. Regis saw this and raised his left finger where the ring is at, "Starting that day, my spirit went towards the Ring of the Luccii, I became the first Lucii as Bahamut granted my wish he granted me a new calling as well to wait for the King of Light and guide my descendants to the right path,"

"Wait so the memory you showed us Reno, back in the council room it was fake?"

"Yup, for I don't want Astraea to remember, but there is some truth to it. Someone did sleep for two millennia, and it was Astraea who went to sleep to wait for the King of Light to be born. The fun fact about us… we the messenger of the Astral are immortal we don't age at all once we reach a certain age so... so with Astraea is sleeping, I don't have a purpose but to wait or wander on my own,"

"So what did you do after that? After Somnus left the Astral plane?" Aerith asked.

"Me nothing much… I spend most of my time just watching Astraea sleep but if Somnus's family needs me or they are in danger I will go to them and help them. But in secret, After all, they do not know about me or Astraea. I might scare them if I told them who Am I and who is the Astral I serve after all in, their memory they have of Ifrit. The Infernian tried to destroy Eos and kill all men... so it was a very bad idea so I went hiding, protecting them from the shadow,"

"That must be very painful and lonesome Reno,"

"It was Your Majesty, but not as painful as what Somnus did after that,"

"What did you do, Somnus?"

"The real question, Your Majesty, is what he did not do, after the death of his family," Reno muttered as he looked sadly at Somnus,

"Why did something happen to them?"

"Nothing your Majesty there were fine," Cally answered, "The Queen die peacefully in her sleep in old age and same goes for Prince Hope,"

"So what is the problem then?" Cor asked.

"Well, Somnus here did not go them or even say goodbye before they go to the afterlife, he just watched as his love ones move on without him,"

"Why did you do that Somnus?"

"I was ashamed, Regis… for what I have done, so I decided not to face them at all let them move on peacefully,"

"It must be so hard for you Somnus," Regis said.

The Mystic smiled bitterly, "It's nothing compared to my siblings suffering specially Ardyn. When my memory came back I remembered the promise I made, the promise to visit him to try to help him again but because of the curse, I have forgotten about it. Not only that I even dubbed him a monster that should be locked away for eternity never to see the light of day again. Ardyn stayed in darkness and was plagued by daemons while Astraea slept in the Astral plane, peaceful, While I did nothing but wait..." he paused as he turned his hands into fists. "I tried everything to destroy the curses I made specially that one about my siblings but I failed, even the Draconian can't undo what I did, not only that I could tell or reveal it to anyone. I just watched my descendants forget about our real history...after hundreds of years the power of the crystal started to decline and not, all my descendants were born to have the power of Light. Some were normal but even with that the people still followed them. For two thousand years, I watched and guided Kings and Queens of Lucis, out of 112th rulers only 11 stood out,"

"The rulers of Yoke?"

"Your correct, Aerith," he turned to her "Because of their bravery they were granted the power of the Crystal and became Bahamut's champion like me and my brother and being the champions of Bahamut they were able to break the curse and after knowing the truth about Ardyn and Astraea they decided to stay and became Lucii to help me guide the Lucis Caelum bloodline and to wait for the king and fulfill the new and real prophecy,"

"The real prophecy?" they all questioned.

"Yes… just like Reno had told you about a fake prophecy that was written in a Cosmology book about the kings of kings, _In a time unknown, only a prophecy keeps hope alive in people's hearts. When darkness veils the world, the King of Light shall come."_ Carbuncle said as she gazed at each one of them and then turned towards his former master and fellow guardian, she smiled at them and stated, "This is the real prophecy the prophecy which the Goddess Etro was bestowed upon giving the Princess a second chance, Reno will you do the honor,"

He nodded and with a deep breath he closed his eyes and opened it slowly and stated the prophecy "_When darkness veils the world, The Flame, and the Light will be called once more. The bond that was forgotten will be fulfilled and the call of the Astrals shall be heard."_

"So that means…the other Astrals will pick their champion?" Regis asked.

Somnus sat up straight, "That the plan… the other Astrals will grant their blessing to their chosen warriors with their helped we can finally vanquish Diabolos once and for all and after two thousand years it finally came, The king of light was born and Astraea came back in the land of the living,"

"But wait… something's not right…" Aerith pondered, "If Astraea was given a second chance and she is like that when she woke up...why did we find her as a baby? Did something happen?"

Somnus face dropped as he looked at Reno, The guardian just gazed down and bit his lips, "Yes… something did happen and I am not proud of it…"

"Why? What happened?"

He turned to her, "For I failed again… I failed to protect them yet again…" Before anyone could talk he continued, "I remember how it started, Like Ifrit... Astraea was still asleep recovering and waiting. I kept going back and front between the land of the living and the Astral plane and after two millennia of peace Diabolos struck again. He used the people of Elheim yet again which was renamed Niflheim. I don't know how but he was able to corrupt the mind and the heart of the leader of the empire and use them to launch another war for the Crystal. I remembered how they first attacked and took over Tenebrae's territory and how the daemons started to appear again. I remembered how _Optimus Lucis Caelum _raised the wall to protect the land while I stood beside him as one of his royal guards. I remembered how he died in the hands of the empire while saving his son and with that sacrifice, he became the last Lucii to be granted the title _The Wise_...I saw everything how the lands of Lucis fell in the hands of the empire. I hated myself that I let Lucis fall into ruin," his fingers turned into talons and he tightened them into a fist and clenched his teeth.

"Don't blame yourself Reno," Carbuncle said, "You were weak back then, without the Ifrit's crystal and Astraea was still sleeping you can only do so little, Even I back then did not have enough energy to help our family, so please to don't blame yourself,"

"I know... I'm just… mad at myself…" he hissed.

"If I remembered Reno you were wounded back then, after saving the prince from another attack. Because of your action he survived and continued the bloodline, so please just like you kept saying to me, don't blame yourself you did your best," Somnus stated and patted him on the left shoulder.

His shoulder dropped in frustration, "Yeah… I know…but as a guardian and Messenger of Ifrit I should have done better..." he brushed Somnus's hand away and crossed his arms, "Some guardian I am," they all looked at him in silence as the guardian continued, "Not only that I let that stupid scientist released Ardyn from his prison and after knowing what happened I went to Niflheim to save him but I was too late," he hissed as the sphere started to glow again and showed memory he was walking in the hallway of the research facility.

**... **

_He breathed a sigh of relief when he reached Ardyn's chamber but that relief was replaced dread as he did not find the Healer inside. _

"_Where are you Ardyn!" he hissed under his breath as he continued to search around the facility. His heart skipped a bit and he couldn't believe his eyes as he saw his master, his God, Ifrit The Infernian sleeping encased in Ice._

"_What the HELL!" he blood-boiled seeing the Astral like that, his hands turned into talons and about to break the glass separating him and the Astral but he stopped when heard fighting he sprinted towards it and witnessed Ardyn fighting with a group of Royal guards. He was about to help him but he stopped on his tracks when he saw how Ardyn turned one of the guards into a daemon he was horrified and could not move._

"_**Good to see you again dear guardian…**__" Reno heard Diabolos voice inside his head,__** "Are you here to help him? Well, you're too late, he is mine now…"**_

_Before he could react a fire broke out and it caused Ifrit to be awakened. He was about to help his master but he stood modified when Ardyn used the power of the starscourge to daemonize the God of Fire. As the Infernian fell on the ground Reno was about to go to him but he was transferred into a dark place he tried to move but he couldn't; his eyes darted towards the darkness and he saw Ardyn but Ardyn couldn't see him. _

"_**Watch him fall into darkness, guardian…" **__Diabolos laughed._

**…**

"What is happening, what are we seeing?" Regis asked.

Before Reno could answer Somnus went first, "It was all because of me…"

They all turned to him, the expression of the founder King became dark, "For my curse changed Ardyn for the worse. Because of my curse, my brother had forgotten about Astraea's existence and our time together as a family and Diabolos used that to weaken his resolve and control him yet again. He made a fake memory, in this memory, we are still brother and but Diabolos made changes in this fake memory he portrayed me as a jealous brother who wanted the throne for myself, that I stole it from him and killed his fiance in front of him and not only that Diabolos even stained the Crystal's and Bahamut's reputation by tricking him that the crystal rejected him as king because of how unclean he is and I killed him took the throne and Imprisoned him on Angelgard. (What happened on FFXV Episode Ardyn - Prologue(Anime)). Somnus sighed as the memory continued.

They saw how Diabolos made an illusion of the Aera, Ardyn's Oracle(Too lazy to write just watch Final Fantasy XV Episode Ardyn cutscene), and a fake Somnus to further anger the healer. They saw how Ardyn lost himself into darkness and heard his anger towards his brother.

**...**

"_I never forgive you Somnus…" Ardyn stood up slowly, "This monster may not be able to destroy you, but I'll see to it that I destroy everything you built!" the healer screamed as purple flames burst from him, "Hear me god's above! No longer shall I supplicate for your pardon. No longer I sojourn towards the light, Nay...the path I intend to thread is paved with blood and darkness. No longer shall I see your guidance." Reno saw how Ardyn face changed scourge slowly pouring out his eyes, "This path mine to tread alone,"_

_With those chilling final words, Reno was able to move and escape the facility._

**…**

Somnus shivered at this is the first time he saw and heard of his brother's statement after all Reno never told him all that had happened, seeing that he understood why the guardian hid it from him. Reno's memory stopped as they all gathered and calmed themselves.

"I could not save him...I'm very sorry Somnus… I could not save your brother…" Reno bowed his head towards the Mystic.

"No you don't have to apologize Reno, you did your best. Astraea is the only one you could save him, so please stop blaming yourself. Being down and glooming does not suit you and Astraea won't like that, " Mystic patted him on the back.

"You should practice what you preach Somnus, you're the one who still can't forgive yourself."

"Just give me time Reno, besides our dark past is not finished yet, we still have one more to reveal,"

"Yeah… that…" the guardian's face dropped.

"So can you now continue or shall I?"

"No will do it… after all, this is my story and suffering,"

Regis and the other just gave the guardian puzzled looks. Reno just shrugged his shoulders and smirked to hide his pain, "So where are we…" Reno paused as he tried to remember what happened next, "Right… the war escalated and with Ardyn by their side they were able to create Solheim technology and because of his help, they made him Chancellor of Niflheim. Lucis was outnumbered and one by one the lands fell and the wall was pulled back to the heart of the Kingdom _Insomnia_, I did everything to help... trust me I did…" he paused and bit his lips again, "But Niflheim infantry is so strong that I can't do anything so I just watched as our beloved kingdom was taken over by the empire… then King Mors dies and you became the king," He turned towards The Father, "You were so young when you inherited your father's throne, Your Majesty, with the war still raging you did not falter not only that you even strengthened the wall, Because of that you power and health kept on declining but to kept it all together and you even married your childhood friend, Queen Aulea, I must say your Majesty she very beautiful and kind, she did serve you and this kingdom with dignity and grace. It's just a shame she is not with us anymore, and I'm sorry for your loss, Your Majesty."

"Me too, Regis, sorry for your loss, I know it's hard to lose someone dear to you,"

"Thank Somnus," Regis's eyes softened as he met eyes with the Founder King.

A long Silence ensued again and Reno broke by continuing his story.

"Your Majesty, do you still remember the attack that happened 18 years ago during the founding day festival?"

"Yes, if I'm not mistaken that was Lord Ardyn right?"

"Yes, I can't believe that Ardyn could get inside the barrier and not only that he was able to summon Ifrit as well,"

**…**

_The sphere glowed and showed Reno dress as a royal guard taking the people into safety. He saw how Ardyn with the help of the Astral laid waste and killed the Royal guards that stood in his way. He followed them in a distance for he can't change into his phoenix from but he continued to follow Ardyn as the Adagium destroyed every device that amplified the barrie_r. _He saw how Ardyn defeated some of the rulers of Yoke with ease. The rulers of yoke did want to kill him knowing who he is. When Ardyn had already destroyed all devices he went to fight Regis._

_**...**_

"I remembered that day very clearly, how he summoned the Royal Arms," Regis stated as he watched Reno's memory and how he fought Ardyn, "I never could imagine that he was real, after all, there are only legends about for him in the citadel,"

They continued to watch Reno's memory. Ardyn was able to defeat Regis with the help of the infernian. When Ardyn was ready to kill King Regis. Somnus appeared in his Lucii form.

"I must say to you I'm amazed, Your Majesty, That you were able to go toe to toe with Lord Ardyn. I'm sorry that I could not help you, for my power were limited back then and I can't disobey Astraea last wish,"

"Last wish?" Regis asked.

"Yes, Your Majesty, Astraea did order me to protect her brother,"

"If I remembered correctly she ordered you to protect me,"

Reno turned to Somnus, "She did but, after knowing what happened to Ardyn she made another order, whatever happened to Ardyn or whatever he will do, I will never lay hands or harm him, that is her last order before she was put to sleep,"

Somnus frowned, "She did that? I should have learned from her, I should understand what Ardyn's had been through, that his action is not his own, but instead of helping him I fought him and I said those terrible things to him," the sphere shifted to his point of view.

**…**

_With a flash of blue light from heaven, Somnus appeared in front of his brother in his Lucii's form._

"_Brother!" Somnus shouted._

_Somnus!" Ardyn Whisper his name whispered darkly as he teleported to him and within seconds they engaged in battle. _

"_Haven't seen you for years...two thousand in fact!...and whose fault is that?" Ardyn warped and attacked him, "Who could have exiled me as a monster and erased from the face of history?_

"_You were tainted - unfit to sit the throne," _

**…**

"I don't know why I said those words, I don't know why I hated him so much and I was ready to kill him back then," Somnus whispered as he interlocked his fingers and gaze down.

**...**

"_Please brother. Return to the darkness where you came."_

"_Now? But I'm having so much fun!" Ardyn replied sarcastically, "To think I'll get the pleasure of killing you myself," They continue to fight, "What's wrong dear brother? Too afraid to put down your expensive toy and come face me yourself," Ardyn continued to mock him, "Let the game begin!"_

**…**

Somnus gazed up and watched his memory, "I projected my anger towards myself on him that day,"

**...**

"_This is no beginning… only the end….. This is preposterous! How could one so impure possess such power!? I was right to have you sealed away… You are truly a monster brother!"_

"_Don't' be facetious, the only monster here is you!" Arden retorted back._

**…**

The founder King sighed, "But I was wrong in doing that and I knew it…"

The others just stayed silent as Somnus continued to speak as his memory continued playing.

"But after fighting him and hearing his anger towards me. I decided to let myself lose for deep inside me, I wanted him to kill me, I want him to have his revenge for he could be free from Diabolos grip and his pain and suffering, but alas as a spirit I could never die,"

_**...**_

_They saw how Ardyn used Ifrit's help to defeat The Mystic. Somnus Lucii's form disappeared and his spirit floated downward in front of the Adagium._

"_I did to you was unforgiving. But I did it for the future of our kingdom- of our people," he said as he felt to his knees._

"_A small sacrifice for the good of society, How noble!"_

"_Our line has done everything in our power to protect our people… just as the gods bade. I was merely fulfilling my calling."_

_Ardyn chuckled, "... And here I thought I was the blessed one, but it was you all along,"_

"_I dare not ask your forgiveness, but I do ask for your understanding, I did it for As-" he slowly stood up._

_Ardyn did not let him finish and shouted at him "WHAT?! You took everything from me… EVERYTHING… and you ask, my understanding!?"_

"_I pray your soul find repose… Brother…" Somnus softly said while his spirit disappeared with that his memory faded._

**…**

"During that time I wanted to tell Ardyn the truth why I erased him for history,"

"Did you tell him, did he believed you,"

"No Aerith," He gazed at her sadly, "For I don't dare to tell him that I was weak that I couldn't take the burden... that I took the easy way out and the second reason is I don't want him to know about Astraea,"

"Why? Should Astraea's memory help him recover?"

"It's good that you didn't tell him, Somnus, for its very bad idea,"

"Why is that Reno?" Clarus asked.

Reno just crossed his arms, "For Bahamut had told me that Diabolos doesn't know that Astraea is still alive. We must protect that secret for it will be the key to defeat The Dark Astral for if the Dark Messenger knew about Astraea he will do everything to kill her again so her safety and the future of Eos, she needs to be safe until she wakes up and helps the King of Light,"

The others just nodded at the guardian as the sphere shifted to his point of view.

**... **

_The Adagium went back to Regis to kill him. But before he could Bahamut appeared and whisk The accursed away._

**... **

"So what did Bahamut do to Lord Ardyn, did he kill him or hurt him," Aerith asked.

"No," Somnus answered in a stern tone, "For Bahamut knew that Ardyn is just under the influence of Diabolos darkness."

"Wait so Diabolos was not inside of Ardyn that time?" Cor asked.

"Yes, for Diabolos was able to convince my brother to do his work. He left Ardyn's body but let his darkness stay to keep Ardyn under his control and just watched everything from his realm the _Realm of Darkness_. Bahamut knew of Diabolos' plan for he did long ago in Solheim and Lucis. The Dark Astrals kept on using puppets for his plans and when the time is right to attack then he will show himself."

"So what did Bahamut do Somnus?" Regis was the one who asked this time.

"Bahamut did not fight him, but instead he reminded Ardyn about his fate, his calling to be the vessel of Darkness. Bahamut even told him about Noctis, about the King of Light and about his fate and how his life will end in the hands of the One True King." The Mystic paused, "Bahamut told me that my brother accepted his fate willingly."

"Really why?"

"I don't know Aerith," he turned to him, " Maybe Ardyn… the brother I knew… the Healer of the People is still in there... waiting to be saved and wanted to do what is right,"

A long silence ensued again as the sphere turned off. Then Reno cleared his throat and spoke up, "If remembered after that attack the empire lay low for two years and Insomnia was able to recover again. Then… that day… the day we've been waiting all our life…after two thousand years of waiting, The One True King… The Kings of Light had been born,"

"Yes… I remembered that day very fondly, I was on the Citadel that day,"

"Yes...me too, Your Majesty," Cor crossed his arms, "When the hospital called that the Queen was ready to give birth, You dropped everything and drove the Regalia recklessly. I was suppressed we manage to get to the hospital in one piece,"

"Yes… I remembered…" Regis chuckled, "Sorry about that, I was just excited to meet my son, Cor,"

"I know your Majesty…" Cor answered and he turned towards the guardian, "Did you knew that the Prince was the one you been waiting for all this time,"

"Yes…" Reno nodded, "When the prince was born I felt it...no we felt it right Cally?"

"Yup… The King of Light was finally showed himself,"

"Wait you were there Reno?" Regis asked.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I'm always present when a new prince or princess comes to this word, "I was not able to get to him in the hospital but when you brought him in the Citadel, that went I got to look more closely and felt that he is the one we been waiting for."

**…**

_Reno slowly walked towards the crib where the prince was sleeping. He kept his presence to a minimum after all the King and Queen are just in the adjacent room sleeping. He slowly peered and saw the raven hair prince sleeping soundly. He sighed and went to brush the prince's cheek. Carbuncle suddenly appeared beside the prince. He bit his tongue to avoid him from screaming as he jumped away from the crib._

_Cally just chuckled, "Sorry Reno…"_

"_It's okay Cally," he laughed at her, "So is he the...the King of Light we've been waiting for?"_

"_Yes, he is…" Carbuncled nodded._

"_Are you sure? He doesn't look like a... The One True king to me," he chuckled._

"_Don't be like Reno, he is just an infant, you need to let him grow," Cally said as she nuzzled her snout on the prince's cheek._

_Then Noctis slowly opened his eyes, Reno held his breath as he saw it, those beautiful crimson eyes. The same crimson eyes that Astraea had, "Wow…" he awed as he leaned down more, but his smile faded as the prince's crimson eyes started to turn blue, the sign that he is, in fact, the one they were waiting for. With that, the prince started to cry._

_Both guardians panicked as both Queen and King went running towards them. They teleport themselves outside the terrace where they can still hear what is happening inside._

"_Shhh… what wrong my dear Noctis..." Queen Aulea cooed as she gently rocked Noctis, "Regis look at this…"_

_The king went to her side, "What! What happened is he hurt!" _

"_No silly, look he finally opened his eyes, the look is the same color of Crystal of Light,"_

_Reno and Cally saw how Regis smiled seeing the Prince's eyes for the very first time._

"_Is that answered your question Reno?" Cally asked in a hushed tone._

_Reno just nodded as he watched the wonderful family in front of him,"_

"_So... how is Princess Reno?" Cally asked._

_It took Reno a few seconds before he answered her, "She is still sleeping as we speak," he gazed at her,_

"_Why not visit her now… maybe she awake now,"_

"_Yes… maybe you're right, Cally," Reno took a step back, "Can you watch over them for a while,"_

"_Of course… Go to her now Reno… wake up our dear Princess...our Fire Maiden…"_

_Reno winked at her, "Sure thing," With that, his memory faded._

_**...**_

"So my son does have crimson eyes,"

"Yes, your Majesty, crimson like the eternal flames," The red-haired guardian answered, "In fact, in all of Somnus's descendants the prince is the only one that has _crimson eyes_, right Cally?"

His fellow guardian pondered for a while as she tried to remember every King and Queen of Lucis, "Wow you right Reno!" Cally bellowed as her tail and ears perked up, "Those two are the only one who has crimson eyes," she said as her tail swayed slowly.

"So that means they are destined to do great things, as our legend told," Somnus said.

"Legend what legend?" Dave asked.

The founder King turned to him, "'You see back on Solheim, having crimson eyes means that you are blessed by High Goddess Etro and we're destined to do great things."

"Really? Wow, your tradition was something, Founder King, "I felt sorry that everyone had forgotten about it and as the leader of the hunter association please accept our sincere apology,"

"No… don't do that Dave, remember I'm the one who erased our past so please don't ever think that you have to apologize to our family. I'm the one should I apologies to your family, for I have been keeping a secret from you,"

"A secret?" both siblings asked.

"Yes, a secret for your family bloodline the Auburnbrie was one of the loyal members of our kingdom back then,"

"What are you saying Somnus," Aerith asked.

"I'm saying that your family was a part of the Solheim's council back then, that your ancestors serve our family. Even with the fall of Solheim you still stick with us all these years,"

"Really…?"

"Yes… the Auburnbrie has always been loyal to Izunias now the Caelums, but some of the past kings and Queens had forgotten about you for that I apologize... but for your loyalty, you have undying gratitude Auburnbries," he bowed to them.

Both siblings were overwhelmed and speechless at first but they were able to pick themselves up together and stood up and bowed towards the founder King.

"Thank, Your Majesty…" They both said in unison.

He nodded and gestured them to sit down

Giving one last respectful smile towards Somnus, Aerith turned to Reno, "Is that the reason why you picked us Reno, Zack, and I to take care of Astraea?"

"No… like I said the shard of Ifrit and Shiva's crystals picked you and maybe the crystal shards knew about your past and choice you to take care of the Princess,"

Aerith nodded, "I hope I can continue to raise Astraea after this…"

"What do you mean, of course, you're her mother, Aerith,"

"Reno is right, Aerith… please continue to take care of Astraea… take care of her for me,"

"I will Somnus…" Somnus nodded and she nodded back.

"So the real question is did her Highness Astraea, wake up that same day,"

Reno took a deep breath and sighed loudly, "To answer your question, Cor, it is a big fat _NO_." he turned towards the Marshal, "Astraea have not woken up that day… even the following day she did not even move a muscle," he gazed at the sphere as it glowed.

**…**

_Reno was his back on the Crystal where Astraea slept, "Come on… Astraea… two thousand years have already passed…" he whispered as he looked up at the crystal in the ceiling of the cave, "Please wake up," he leaned his head back and his eyes darted upward towards his master's face, "The King of Light is now born you know? You're the only one missing?" he closed his eyes and gently pounding the back of his head on the crystal. "If you're waiting for Somnus, your brother you won't come here… he is still blaming himself…" his head stopped as his eyes started to water, "He is stubborn like you… princess… he won't listen to me… so please wake up and go to him… gave him a big punched on the stomach better yet slammed him on the ground so he will wake up from his nightmare. Please Astraea, wake up. Ardyn needs you… he continues to fall into darkness you the only that could save him before it's too late," he inhaled deeply and exhaled loudly, "Please wake up...we are tired of waiting and suffering please Astraea... let your flames burn again… Fire Maiden," he stopped to wait for a reply but silence greeted him. With gritted teeth, he stood up and dusted his black coat and looked at the crystal._

" _Maybe you are still not ready and need more rest… Princess…" he forced a smile. "Go ahead rest… I will still be here waiting for you… Astraea Lucis Izunia, our Fire Maiden…"_

**…**

"Maybe Astraea felt it, Somnus"

"Felt what?"

"Felt that you were still not ready to meet her… that you kept blaming yourself for what happened.."

The Mystic eyes gazed down, "You can't blame me Reno, for all those years of waiting and suffering. I admit back then I was scared about the future. You saw how Ardyn treated me back then during the founder King festival,"

"But the was not your brother Somnus, Ardyn is under the control of Diabolos,"

"But still he was right, I stole the throne from him and erased him from history, but you are right I must move forward to be able to help him. _I will no longer live in the past. We must all look toward the future now."_

Reno smiled, "That the Somnus I know… the same Somnus that both Ardyn and Astraea adored...their beloved brother, I assured you, Your Majesty, that they will forgive you after all Blood is thicker than water,"

The eyes of the Mystic lit up somehow and he put out a sincere smile, "Thank you Reno… I will try to move on for them… for us… for… Eos…"

"We are always here for you Founder King...Somnus Lucis Caelum…" Both Reno and Carbuncle said in unison.

"Thank… both of you…" he smiled at them and they smiled back.

"So when did Astraea wake up?"

Reno stood suddenly and stretched his hands and feet. All were surprised by his sudden action. He just chuckled and turned his head to Regis who asked the question.

"Well Your Majesty, I'm happy to tell you that I did not wait for long after a month…" he stopped and counted with his fingers, "no scratch that… to be exact 23 long days later it happened. The same day as her birthday, The day when light and night were of equal. The autumnal equinox on September 22 of M.E. 735...The fire maiden had finally awoken from her two thousand years slumber.

"That must be a great moment for you Reno, after all those years Astraea finally woke up,"

"Yes it was your Majesty...but…"

Regis and the other saw how Reno's face felt and turned dark. The same goes for the founder King and his fellow guardian.

"Your right, Your Majesty, it was a joyous occasion." Carbuncle stated, "But it was not for long...after all… The princess has…" she stopped and gazed at her fellow guardian.

"Tell us, Cally, what happened!" Aerith asked her tone full of anxiousness.

"Let me just show you…" Reno said as he gazed sadly at the sphere as it projected his memory.

**...**

_He was back at the crystal cave again. He was walking back and forth in front of the crystal. His body was trembling, his fingers were twitching._

"_Come on wake up already!" he hissed under his breath as he continued walking back and forth. "Come on Astraea Wake UP! You SLEEPY HEAD!"_

_Right on cue, a crack on the crystal appeared. He jumped back, his eyes widened as the cracks started to run up the entire crystal. _

"_Astraea…" he whispered as he touched the crystal, It suddenly burst into Inferno it engulfed the entire crystal. The flames went up to the ceiling and started to burn everything. He closed his eyes shut and when he opened them again the crystal cave was no more and Astraea was floating in front of him. Embers fluttering from her blood-red hair. The Princess slowly opened her eyes and revealed the pair of crimson glowing eyes. _

"_Astraea… you're awake" he bellowed as he walked towards her._

_Suddenly Astraea stopped hovering and went tumbling down. Reno was able to catch her._

"_Woah… I got you...Astraea… I got you...princess.." the guardian whispered as he cradled her close._

_The Fire Maiden slowly opened her eyes and it was his smiling face the first thing she saw, "There you are… princess… Welcome back... Astraea," he held his hand to brush away her bangs before his fingers could reach her face. Astraea soft eyes went wide and pushed him away._

"_GO AWAY!" she shouted as she pushed him, "WHO ARE YOU! WHERE AM I?" she shouted as she crawled away from him._

"_Shhh… it's me Reno...your guardian princess…" Reno whispered with a gentle smile he kneeled in front of her. _

"_Reno?" with her eyes full of fear and her body started to tremble. She asked again, "Where Am I?"_

"_In the Astral plane, Your Highness," he answered with the sweetest smile, "Don't worry about your safety… Diabolos won't be able to reach you, princess. So please stop trembling..." He reached for her face again and before he could make contact he heard those shocking words._

"_Reno... WHO AM I?"_

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry! I thought I could finish _Recalling Of The Past_ storyline in this chapter but I was wrong. There will be another chapter dedicated to the recalling of the past storyline and that is the last I promise. If you think Astraea turning into a crystal is familiar is it, for I got the idea from ff13 when a **l'Cie** turned into **Crystal **after fulfilled one's focus/calling. After all, in this my story, the Astrals are the Fal'Cie and the champions are the l'Cie. But instead of turning into a crystal, I decided to let Astraea slept inside the crystal, like what happened to _Lucrecia Crescent Dirge of Cerberus: FF7._

THANK YOU! I hope you enjoy this and have a wonderful day and keep safe!


	29. Chapter 27

**Recalling of the Past: Reunion**

"_The reunion at hand may bring joy. It may bring fear. But let us embrace whatever it brings" - __Final Fantasy VII Remake_

* * *

_Reno snorted, "Funny… Princess, Come on… take my h-" he stopped midway as his smile faded when he saw how Astraea flinched when he reached for her, "Astraea?"_

_The tears started forming in the corner of the princess's eyes, her body trembling for a bit. For a moment he believed her by knowing his master. Astraea had always liked making jokes because of this he did not believe her and shrugged his shoulders and smirked, "Nice try Astraea, come on…" he reached for her again._

"_GO AWAY!" she shouted and smacked his hand._

"_Ouch, that hurt!" he laughed while shaking his hand jokingly. Astraea just looked at him with a frightened expression, he sighed, "Okay enough of your shenanigans, your brothers need you, come on stand up...Your Highness" he grabbed her by the forearm and helped her up._

"_I said GO AWAY!" Astraea pushed him hard enough that he felt on his butt._

_He gazed at her, 'She is not kidding…' he thought, then he remembered what Astraea did two Millennia ago and how would it affect her. Etro had given him a warning that Princess might forget who she and her memory wiped away. He hissed it did come true, The princess has forgotten everything, her life, her brother, and her past. He slowly breathed in and out gently rose to his feet and bowed._

"_My apologies," he rose and smiled, "Don't be frightened… I am here to help you, My name is Reno and I'm Messenger of Ifrit and your guardian," _

_The princess's eyes softened, "My guardian?" _

"_Yup," he replied happily and stepped forward, she stepped back, 'This won't work… I need her to feel safe,' he thought, with a deep breath he burst into flames and when the flames died down he was in his phoenix form, he saw how his master eyes widened. "This is my real form, I'm a phoenix and you are my master," he slowly lowered his head to her. Astraea reluctantly held her hand towards his break and brushed it, "Reno..."_

"_Yes, that is my name," he whispered, "Your name is Astraea… Astraea Lucis Izunia, The princess of Lucis,"_

_The princess backed away, "Me a prin...cess.?!" she stammered._

_He chuckled, "Yes...do you want me to tell you all about your life, Princess?"_

_She nodded, "Well then, come sit down," he lowered himself, he changed back to being human, "Come I won't bite," he patted and space in front of him._

_Astraea gazed at him for a few minutes during that time his smile never faded. Finally, she went and sat in front of him, he sighed in relief, "Well then what do you want to know…Princess?" _

"_Everything about me…. About my past and who I am, can you tell me that, Reno?"_

"_Of course Princess…"_

_She frowned, "One more thing, can you stop calling me princess, I don't like it."_

_He laughed, "Nothing has changed, you are still the princess I know," he smiled, "But if you want that, I will follow your command, Astraea," he stopped and gazed at her crimson eyes. "Well then let us start our story... Fire Maiden,"_

_It took him 30 minutes to tell Astraea who she was. He just told her the important stuff like she is Ifrit's champion and one of the Warriors of Light. Their fight against the darkness and Diabolos, her homeland Solheim, her parents, and brothers. The reason why she lost her memory and why she is here._

_Astraea slowly absorbed all the information and after he had finished his story they stayed silent until Astraea spoke, "So that means my new calling is to help this King Of light?"_

"_Yes... with your flames and his light you will be able to vanquish the darkness forever."_

"_How can I do it!? How can I recover my memories!? How can I save my brother and help the king of Light!? How can I defeat Diabolos!?" she asked rapidly without taking a break._

"_Woah easy there, Astraea," he put two hands on her shoulder, her tease shoulder eases up, "Your body is recovering from your long stasis, let take it one step at a time shall we princess?" _

_She nodded and smiled, "Okay, Reno I'm at your capable hands, My guardian…"_

_Seeing her gentle smile he suddenly hugged her, she was suppressed at first but returned the hug "You're finally here... Astraea... oh, how I miss you,"_

_"It's good to be back... Reno," she whispered._

**…**

"Astraea did forget everything,"

"Yup and what you did didn't help her either," he turned towards Somnus and frowned, "Let me ask you again Somnus, why did you do that? Are you that weak that you did not have enough courage to face her?"

Somnus glared at his remark and the presence around them started to get serious. So King Regis went and interfered.

"What exactly happened after that Reno and why are you angry with the Somnus, what did he do,"

The guardian's expression eased up as he turned towards him, "The real question, Your Majesty, What he didn't do again," he crossed his arms.

"Just answered the King's question Reno, so that we can finish this already," Somnus said in a stern voice as he started to calm down.

"Fine... let's get this over with," he huffed, "Bahamut appeared to us after a while, and explained to us that there's is a way to restore Astraea's memory,"

"How? Can we do it right now?"

"As we said, Your Majesty, it is too early for Astraea to recover her memory and now only that the recovery process is complicated,"

"How complicated?" Cor asked.

"Well… we need the Oracle's help,"

"Lady Lunafreya why? What the Oracle's had to do with my daugh-" Aerith stopped midway, "I mean the princess,"

"It's okay Aerith… you still can call Astraea your daughter, after you raised her," Somnus reassured her after he turned towards the king, "Reno was told us, that Bahamut and other Astrals could give Astraea her memory back but they have to do that in the physical world and their physical body,"

"So that means we have to awaken them from their slumber?"

"Yup, that's the plan," Reno said.

Regis lowered his head, "That we will hard for Lady Lunafreya to accomplish, after all, she has been the Oracle for just three years and I know she to busy healing her people of the starscourge and not only that she is under the Niflheim custody,"

"Don't worry, Your Majesty…we will find a way to rescue the Oracle and Tenebrae, for now, we need to lay low for a bit for it's too early to act. We just need to wait for the proper time, after all, we waited for two thousand years, what a couple of years more of wait," Reno said, brushing his bangs away from his face.

"So what did you do...no... what did Astraea do?" Regis asked.

"She accepted it after she fully recovered and we went back… to our home… Insomnia, but instead of the warm welcome we were faced with a dilemma, and Somnus' action did not help either."

Before anyone could react the sphere started to show his memory again.

**…**

_With a flash of red light, Reno and Astraea appeared on a back alley. Reno was wearing his black unbuttoned suit jacket and pants with an untucked white dress shirt. While Astraea is wearing her white healer's robe. (Final Fantasy XIV FF14 White Mage Outfit). _

_They walked parallel to each other as they walked towards the open street, "We are here, Astraea this is Insomnia, your home," _

_He watched her eyes twinkled as Astraea saw the tall skyscrapers and the colorful billboards around them, "I thought Insomnia is a small kingdom Reno,"_

_He chuckled as he guild her to the storefront, "That was two millennial ago, Astraea, this is Insomnia now, The Caelum… your brother's descendant made it all possible,"_

"_So where is my brother, you said his spirit still lingers here,"_

"_He will be at the Citadel," he pointed to a building in the distance, "Come let us go to it, he will be happy to know your back," he gestured his hand forward while bowing, "After you... Your Highness," _

_Astraea joking punched him in the shoulder, "I said stop with the royal stuff, Reno,"_

"_Sorry I can't help it," he chuckled as they walked parallel to each other. Reno acted as a tour guide, pointing and giving a small description of the building and places as they passed it. Astraea just nodded or smiled at him in return. As they approached the Citadel he noticed how anxious and scared she was so to help her ease up he asked, "Are you excited Astraea?" she just nodded and lowered her head and continued to walk. He stopped in front of her and made her bump into him._

"_Oh sorry…" _

"_Are you okay?" he put his hands on her shoulder and gently started to rub it with his thumbs._

"_Yes… I'm just scared…"_

_He sighed, "Don't worry everything will be okay. Trust me you two will finally see each other again. This is a happy occasion so please stop worrying and smile," he gently lifted her chin and smiled at her._

_Astraea just gave him a gentle smile and gazed at the Citadel which is just two city blocks away. _

"_Alright then let us go," Reno grabbed her hand and continued to walk towards the Citadel as they reached the Citadel's gate. He noticed the small crowd gathering there, he saw that they were carrying flowers and some of them were crying and the flag of Insomnia was on a half mass above the gates._

_The Fire Maiden noticed it as well, "Is there something wrong Reno?" _

"_Don't know," he said, his gaze went towards the Citadel and sensed something was not right. His eyes darted around and saw a park nearby, without warning he dragged the princess to it, "Can you wait here for a while, Astraea?" _

_He saw how scared she was but she reluctantly nodded, "Okay… I'll stay here," she took a seat on the park bench and hugged herself._

"_I won't be long, Princess…" with that he returned towards the Citadel._

_Reno went towards the crowd and asked one of them, "What is wrong? what happened,"_

_A female crown citizen turned to him, "Haven't you heard, Queen Aulea… our beloved queen is now gone," she sobbed._

"_WHAT!" he bellowed, "WHEN? HOW!" _

"_Just a few hours ago….I heard she succumbed to her sickness, our poor King Regis, and Prince Noctis… they must be heartbroken," the woman wiped her tears away._

_Reno clenched his jaw and his fists, 'For the love of the Astral! why now?!' he gazed at the citadel and gazed back at the women, "Thank you…" he bowed and went towards the side of the Citadel's wall. When he was now out of sight he teleported inside the Citadel. First, he went towards the throne room to find it empty, then towards the king's Chamber, just like the throne room is empty and devoid of life, 'This is not the reunion I expect, where are you your Majesty, are you alright?' his mind went racing as he continued to search for King Regis. He went towards the Prince chamber just to find it empty. He was about to leave but Carbuncle suddenly appeared._

"_Cally? Where is the king right now, is he alright and the prince?"_

_She shook her head, "No… the king griefing, he took the prince out and he still no have returned,"_

"_So he is outside the Citadel?"_

"_Yes, but don't worry his shield is with him," Cally lowered her head, "So why are you here, Reno? Did you felt the Queen's passing,"_

"_NO… I'm here because Astraea is awake…"_

"_What the princess!" the guardian tail and ears perked up, "Where is she?" _

"_She at the park" Reno went towards the window and gazed down with his eyes he saw Astraea still sitting on the bench._

"_Why did you leave her there Reno, is she okay?"_

"_Yes she is but..." his expression turned dark._

"_What is wrong, Reno? she jumped in his shoulder._

"_Its Astraea… she had forgotten everything, she was amnesia."_

"_What…" she murmured, "Is she alright? how is she taking it,"_

"_She fine she took it like a champ…but she just not as lively as before,"_

"_I'm very sorry...Reno and you were looking forward to this," Cally nuzzled her snout at Reno's cheek and wrapped her tail around his neck._

"_It's fine Cally, look at the bright side, she back now," Reno forced a smile and Cally returned it. "So talking to King Regis is out of the question, huh…"_

"_Yes, King Regis is not himself today and it would be a bad idea to talk to him about Astraea,"_

"_Yeah… I know…" he let out a frustrating sigh, "I thought this day would be joyous. we going to celebrate her return by look like it had to wait,"_

"_Right, is not the right to for that, we need to wait until we send the Queen into the afterlife,"_

"_How did she pass away, Cally, did our Queen suffer?"_

"_No, she did not… she just did not wake up from her slumber. We were expecting it, after all, the birth of the prince took a toll in the Queen's health the doctors had warmed his Majesty, that she will not live long, and that came true, Her Majesty Queen Aulea is now gone," Caruncle horn glowed faintly as she let tears felt._

_Reno saw it and brushed it away, "It will be alright Cally, you just need to continue to protect the prince in her stead now, I will help you," he patted her on the head._

_Carbuncle purred, "Thank Reno...I will protect Princess as well, let us protect them, Reno,"_

_He nodded and they stayed silent for a while then he sighed deeply as he gazed at the sky, "His Majesty must be devastated," _

"_Yes, he is… let us give him a time to grieve and recover from the pain,"_

"_Your right…let us give them time…. so where is Somnus then…The Founder King will be ecstatic to hear the good news,"_

_The fox guardian face dropped together with her ears, "He is at the Crystal chamber again…"_

"_Why?"_

"_You don't know what today is, Reno?"_

_Reno tilted his head as he tried to remember what day it was. Then it came to him like thunder, "You have to be kidding me!" He hissed, "It's today!"_

"_Yes…" Cally jumped towards the table in front of them, "And Somnus is at it again, he is watching his memory again,"_

"_Now I know why Astraea woke up…"_

"_It must be fate right?" Cally asked._

"_Yeah… a terrible and unforgiven fate, Reno crossed his arms and frowned, "There are 365 days of the year, Astraea decided to wake up on this very day… fate must be playing with them," he slowly breathed in and out to ease his anger away._

**...**

"What is wrong? Reno if I'm correct you said that Astraea woke up on the day of her birthday right?

"Yes...but it's the very same day of the fall of Solheim and death of our parents," Somnus murmured.

The others fell into a deep silence.

"It's now Queen Aulea had joined them, I hope they are now at peace," Reno paused for a bit for he saw how Regis' reaction, The emerald eyes of the King's became sorrowful. Reno bit his lips in frustration, after all as a guardian he never likes to see his family like that, he slowly breathed in and out and said, "Your Majesty, I'm sorry if I brought up painful memories, I should not have done that," he bowed towards him, "And I did not have time to give my condolence back then. I knew it's too late but I offer you my sincere condolence for sorry for the loss, dear King"

Regis just nodded back, "I'm okay Reno, please don't mind me, I already moved on and accepted Aulea death, it's all in the past now. So please continue I want to know what happened to Astraea,"

The guardian nodded and sat up straight as others recollected themselves. The memory sphere started to glow again.

**…**

_Reno was able to calm himself down and gaze at his fellow guardian, "Well then if the King is not available right now and can't welcome Astraea, Somnus might be, Where is he again?"_

_Carbuncle ears dropped, "like I said he is at the crystal chamber, watching his memory again,"_

_He let out an aggregating sigh, "How many times did he watch it this year? He does not want to let go of the past huh?" _

_Carbuncle jumped to his shoulder, "You can't blame The Founder King, he just truly missed them,"_

"_I know and but he should stop torturing himself, it's been two thousand years already," Carbuncle just lowered her head down. Reno patted her on the head and smile, "Come on let us go and tell him the great news then, and maybe just maybe we will see his smile after thousand years," _

_Carbuncle nodded as Reno walked out the door. When they reached the crystal chamber door, Carbuncle jumped down, "Go ahead, Reno, I will just make a barrier so that we can talk in peace, His Majesty will be inside. Reno please be presentable," she looked at his appearance._

"_Fine!" he scoffed and tucked his white dress shirt and buttoned his suit jacket and brushed his bangs upward, "Happy?" he gazed down at her._

"_That's better…" Carbuncle nodded._

_With winked Reno opened the door and stepped in. There he found Somnus in front of Bahamut Crystal, watching his memory yet again. Just like what his fellow guardian said. The Founder King is watching the fall of Solheim yet again, in his perspective(What happened in Prologue: Solheim & The War of the Astrals). Reno does not have a choice but to wait. When the memory was over he heard Somnus sighed deeply and whispered._

_"In a time unknown, only a prophecy keeps hope alive in people's hearts. When darkness veils the world, the King of Light shall come." _

_He gave Somnus a minute to compose himself before walking towards him the raven-haired former monarch turned around to him, "Your Majesty," he greeted with a smile, "She's back…" he paused, "Astraea is awake…" he saw how Somus's sapphire eyes widened, "What are you waiting for? she is waiting, go to her Founder King…" he bowed down and looked up again, his smile wider than before, "Your long-awaited reunion finally came… The Fire Maiden... is waiting for you…Somnus..."_

_"Finally," Somus sighed, "The prophecy will soon come to pass, When darkness veils the world, The Flame, and the Light will be called once more. The bond that was forgotten will be fulfilled and the call of the Astrals shall be heard. So where is she? where is Astraea...Reno?" he asked, "Where is my sister..." _

_The guardian shifted his feet and scratched the back of his head, "Well about that...she outside the palace, but don't worry she is fine, she is at the park,"_

_Somnus glared for a moment then walked towards the window and looked down._

"_If you want I could go get her and bright her here," he said as he turned around towards the door,_

"_Reno….stop! I don't want to see her,"_

_He stopped abruptly and looked back slowly, "What?!" both of their eyes met, "That is a good joke, Somnus," he laughed, "Stay here I will go get her," he turned around and started to walk away._

"_I said stop Reno! I don't want to see her," he turned around to see Somnus's stern face._

"_It's not funny anymore, Somnus, Astraea is now wa-"_

_Somnus cut him off, "Go and take her somewhere else,"_

"_What!" Reno bellowed, "Do you hear yourself Somnus!" he marched to him, "Why would you not go to her, she is waiting for you!" _

"_Now is not the right time for us to meet," the Founder King just averted his gaze. _

_Reno snapped and grabbed Somnus by the collar "What the HELL are you saying Somnus!" the monarch did not react or even flinch, his face just remained cold and stern, "You waited for two millennia for this," he hissed, "For what to back out and hideaway and why are you doing this explain yourself, Founder King!"_

_Their eyes met again, "I don't have to explain myself to you, Guardian," he said in an authoritative tone._

_Reno anger went up before he could give a reply, Carbuncle appeared on Somnus shoulder, "Reno stop this! Let go of his Majesty,"_

_Reno hissed as he released the former king, "Why are you doing this Somnus are you still afraid of what will happen?" he asked his anger fading, "Astraea needs you right now, she needs her big brother,"_

"_As I said Reno, now it's not the right time for us to met, The Queen had just died, we need not add more problem for the current king,"_

_Reno's anger returned, "Are you just using the Queen's death as an excuse, are you that scared to see her,"_

"_Reno please calm down," Cally whispered as she jumped to his shoulder and wrapped her tail around his neck, seeing Reno calm down she turned to her former master, "But Your Majesty, Reno is right Astraea needs you right now, please can you just go to her?"_

_Somnus shook his head, "Sorry I can't...I can't face her, after all, I have done, after taking her life, I have no right to face her,"_

"_For the last time Somnus you did not take her life and you did not do anything wrong," Reno said a gentle tone, "So please go to her, she really needs you right now," Somnus averted his gaze yet again. Reno sighed and rolled his eyes at him, "Fine if you don't want to talk or see her, then we will go somewhere else where we are welcome!" he pushed Cally off his shoulder and stormed out the door._

_Carbuncle ran after him, "Reno where are you going?"_

"_Away! away from here!" he hissed as he turned around to see Somnus just standing there without any emotion whatsoever._

"_Come on Reno… please understand what his Somnus, is going through,"_

"_I did Cally," he growled at her fellow guardian who stopped in her tracks, "I fully understand him, I know he is scared but he should let go of the past, it's been two thousand years already! he was to move on!"_

_Carbuncle ears dropped at her gaze went back to his master then back to Reno, "I will go and talk to him, Reno…"_

"_Go ahead maybe you can go through his thick head of his, but for now I will follow his command and go somewhere else and take Astraea with me," he went towards the door upon reaching the door, he glanced back, "Somnus, I will say this again, Astraea will surely forgive you…and If you still worry about what happened in the past don't be… After all, Astraea has forgotten all of that. She has amnesia and even with that she just wants to see her brother…but the way you're acting right now is not acceptable, and you called yourself her big brother," Before Somnus could react he went out and slammed the door shut. He just took a deep breath, 'How can I explain this to Astraea' he thought, "Ahhhh!" he scratched his hair in frustration, "Okay, Reno you can do this, just smile and everything will be fine," he whispered to himself as he teleported out of the Citadel._

_**... **_

"Sorry about the way I acted back then Somnus," Reno lowered his head, "I known went overboard,"

"No, Reno, you don't have to apologize, it's my fault for I did not dare to face her back then. I was just really afraid to face her for I don't know what to do or say to her,"

"I knew you were terrified, but you should have to face your fear," Reno turned his gaze towards him, "But instead of running away again,"

"I knew what I did is wrong, Reno, I hope you can forgive me,"

Reno sighed, "We both were wrong, my anger got the best of me. So you don't have to apologize, let us just forgive and forget about everything that happened that day," both of them nodded at each other.

After making sure that everything is alright Regis cleared his throat to get all of their attention, "Forgive me for interrupting but It just occurred to me that I met Astraea, that day,"

"What! are you sure, Your Majesty?" Reno asked.

"Yes… I remembered it now," Regis smiled sadly, "I was lost and did not know what to do but after meeting her and talking to her, my sorrow and grief disappeared,"

"Can you please show it to us, Your Majesty?" Carbuncle asked.

"Yes, please do," Reno stood up and picked the sphere and handed it towards the King, "If that is okay with you?"

"Of course, I want to fully remember it as well," Regis inclined as he took the sphere and started to concentrate on it after he gave it back to Reno.

"Astraea never did say about meeting someone," the guardian said as he placed the sphere on the table and sat down near it as it started to glow and showed Regis's memory.

**…**

_Regis was walking slowly as he held the young prince in his arms. He went towards his queen's favorite place in all of Insomnia, the lotus pond in the park next to the Citadel. He was walking towards the pond. He stopped when he heard someone singing in the distance. He went towards the source of it and found a woman singing in the middle of the arch wooden bride. As the women continued to sing he just stood there and listened to her song. _

_(Remind Me (Kingdom Hearts III Song) (original by Anna & Victor McKnight). _(Just found this out while searching for Final fantasy songs and it's awesome and I want to share it with you and it's kinda perfect for the Astraea situation, The siblings made their promise while looking at the sea.)

_As the King continued to listen he could feel her emotion he even noticed the tears in her eyes even if she had a cloak over her head. After finishing the song and wiping her tears away it took a minute for the women to notice him and she turned to him as she lowered her cloak. His eyes widened to see her crimson eyes._

'_Wow…' Regis thought as he gazed at her eyes even more, yes he did meet other people who have red eyes but not as crimson as red as her. As he continued to gaze at her he could not stop feeling that he knew her but he couldn't remember when or where._

"_Hello? are you okay?" she asked as she walked towards him, "Hey, Sir? Are you alright?" Astraea gently touched his forearm._

_Regis snapped out of his thoughts, "Yes...I'm... fine," he stammered as he arranged the sleeping prince in his arms properly._

"_Good, I was worried you were looking pale, are you sure you're okay?" she asked with a gentle smile._

"_Yes, I'm okay, you need not worry about me, how about you? Sorry but I heard you singing, do you need help?"_

"_Thanks for the offer but I don't know if can help me," he raised an eyebrow at her, she noticed it and smiled sadly, "My problem is quite complicated,"_

"_How complicated, I might be able to help you?"_

"_Well… how could I explain it…" she looked at the sky, "I lost my memory,"_

"_Your memory?"_

"_Yup, I lose it during a fight and I lost my brothers too, we got separated,"_

"_If that is so, why are you here and all alone?" he asked as he gazed around the park which is now empty of people. After all, he ordered the crown guard to guard the park so that he could have time alone._

"_A family friend is helping me and he said that one of my brothers is here. He asked me to wait for him here for he went to meet him," she whispered as she walked towards the bridge again he followed her._

"_Do you need company while you wait?"_

"_That would be wonderful, It is quite lonely here," she nodded and looked down at the pond, "There are beautiful…"_

_Regis followed her gaze and saw she was looking at the white lotus flowers "Yes they are,"_

_They continued to stare at the flowers in silence and suddenly the women bellowed, "Oh! How rude of me," she turned towards him smiling, "My name is Astraea and you are?" _

_The King was surprised at first that she does not know him but knowing that she is a refugee he let it slide and introduce himself, "Regis and this is my son Noctis,"_

"_Oh… Hello there, little Noctis," she said as he brushed the prince's cheek gently. The prince stirred for a bit, "He is handsome Regis, you must be proud,"_

"_I am," Regis said as he cradled Noctis close to his body._

"_So are you really okay Regis?"_

"_Why are you asking that?" he raised an eyebrow at her._

"_Well looking at your face I can tell you're hurting and running from something, is something wrong?"_

"_For someone you have amnesia, have a very strong intuition," he said as he walked towards one of the park benches and sat down, she took a seat beside him, "I'm mourning for I lost my dear wife today," he gazed at his sleeping son._

"_Oh… I'm very sorry to hear that Regis…please accept my deepest condolence" _

"_Thank you…" his emerald eyes glanced at her before she could reply Noctis suddenly woke up and started crying. Regis started to rock him gently to calm the prince down. He was doing his best but the prince kept crying for a minute now._

"_May I Regis?" She asked as he held her arms up._

_Regis was reluctant at first but gave Noctis to her. The Fire Maiden cradled the prince carefully and started to hum then later she started to sing. (Final Fantasy XIII - "Promise" - Serah's Theme | ENGLISH ver | AmaLee). After completing her song. Noctis feel fast asleep in her arms._

"_Your song is lovely Astraea," Regis whispered as he saw his son sleeping peacefully in her arms, "You have an amazing voice too,"_

"_Oh...Thank you," she replied as he handed back the prince to the King, "May I give you some advice Regis?" He nodded as he cradled Noctis, "Just like the lyrics of my song, don't give up Regis, I know it is painful to lose someone you love, but remember __**Love will not leave you. **__Even your wife is now gone she did leave you a gift to remember her by,"_

"_A gift?" Regis asked in a puzzled look._

"_Yup," she looked down and brushed the prince's raven hair, "Little Noct here. You wife might be gone but she will always be here in your heart and your son is the testament of you love for each other so treasure him and take care of him,"_

_Regis chuckled gently, "You are right, Thank you,"_

"_Your Welcome Regis," she smiled, "There is something else I want to tell you, first I need to remember it," she said as she closed her eyes to concentrate. As Astraea continued to ponder Regis saw his shield walking towards them. Before the shield could talk Regis held a hand to stop him and waved him to go away. Clarus nodded and walked away, "I remembered it now!" she bellowed and turned towards him, "This is our family motto, 'You need to have __**COURAGE**__ to face everything head-on, and at times you are lost don't lose __**HOPE**__ and always remember__** LOVE**__ is the strongest weapon you have'."_

"_That is a very comforting motto Astraea thank you, I put that in mind. I know I promise to keep you company but I must go now Noctis might catch a cold. Can I leave you here or you want to go and stay with me for a bit until you find your brother," he stood up._

"_No… I'm okay," she shook her head, "I can manage myself, you can go now... we don't want little Noct here to catch a cold," she stood up and smiled at him, "Nice meeting you Regis, I hope you get through this,"_

"_Same with you Astraea, I hope you recover your memory and reunite with your family,"_

"_I hope so and thank you for your company, I appreciate it," she paused as she gazed at him for a while and with a sweet and gentle smile she said, "Don't ever lose hope and don't stop believing in the future, Regis, everything will be fine," she bowed. Before he could return the bow she went running out the park._

_Regis stood there watching her vanish insight. Second, later Clarus walked to his side._

"_Who is that, Your Majesty?" Clarus asked._

"_She a friend Clarus," Regis smiled, "Let us go now and returned to the Citadel,"_

**...**

"Wow, even after she lost her memory her love for singing never changed," Reno chuckled, "But that was a surprise you had a family reunion without knowing it, Your Majesty,"

"Now I know why I felt that way because she was family. How could I forget the meeting?" Regis pondered.

"Maybe because you heartbroken Regis and can't blame you," Somnus murmured.

"I guess you're right…" the king let out a heartfelt sighed, " I must thank her in the future, because of her I was able to move on and accepted Aulea death and I must return the favor,"

"You are doing it right now Regis," Somnus uttered, "In protecting her and giving her a life she deserves so please continue that and gave her the love of family she lost,"

"I will Somnus," Regis gave him a quick bow, Somnus returned it with a smile.

"So what happened after that Reno?" Aerith asked, "Where did you take Astraea?"

"Well, I was planning to stay inside the Crown city, but Astraea made a request I can't turn down. But before that, she gave me a mini heart-attack," They all gave him an odd look, he saw this and sighed, "Just watch my memory…"

…

_Reno appeared in behind a huge tree and walked towards where he left her to find her missing. His body went into a full panic as he ran out of the park and asked anybody in the street if they saw the Princess. It took him a half-hour to locate her. She was standing in front of a huge statue. He breathed a sigh of relief and walked beside her._

"_You gave me a heart attack Astraea, why did you leave the park?"_

"_Oh...sorry… I was bored and I wanted to explore a bit. I was planning to go back but when I saw this statue, I felt something, a familiar feeling," she paused and glanced at the statue, "It's him right? It's Somnus… my brother,"_

_Reno looked at the statue, she was right. It was her brother in his Lucii form. "Yes, it's him, Astraea,"_

"_I knew it…" a faint smile appeared in her face but her eyes were showing a different emotion. Her crimson eyes were dulled and full of sorrow like she was doing her best not to cry._

"_Astraea are you alright?" he rubbed her back gently._

_She nodded and turned to him, "So did you meet Somnus?"_

_Reno's face dropped, "Sorry I did not," he lied as he averted his gaze, "Well, there was a problem in the Citadel, I could not talk to him,"_

"_What happened, did something go wrong, is my brother alright?"_

"_NO... he is alright, but the current King is not,"_

"_Did something happen to his Majesty?"_

"_He is safe… he just lost his wife today, Queen Aulea passed away in her sleep and King Regis is mourning right now,"_

"_Wait what? King Regis is that his name?" her eyes widened._

_Yes, Regis Lucis Caelum is the name of his Majesty, why is something wrong?" he asked _

"_Oh…" he saw the realization in her eyes but before he could ask a question she continued, "So that means I can't talk to him right now? Is that what you haven't seen my brother because of this dilemma?"_

_Reno took a deep breath. He was thinking if he would tell her the truth or not, he picked the latter and lied again, "Yes, that's the reason why. The king is not on his best at the moment, but if you want we can still go talk to him,"_

"_No! Don't do that!" she waved her hands, "Let the King mourn for his wife, I can wait until everything is alright,"_

"_Are you sure Astraea?" she nodded, "Okay then… So where do you like to go then? Do you want to take a tour of the entire city?" he asked enthusiastically but Astraea did not reply and just kept gazing at Somnus's statue, "Astraea…?" he whispered and reached his hand._

"_I want to go to Angelgard,"_

_His hand stopped in the air, "What? to Angelgard, sorry but it's too dangerous for us to go there, Astraea please pick somewhere else to go, We can go to Altissia you would like it there," he put his hand on her shoulder._

_She gazed at him with pleading eyes, "Please I want to see it. I want to see where Ardyn was imprisoned. Take me to Angelgard Reno."_

**…**

"I should have talked to her back then," Somnus said, Reno paused his memory and turned to him, "I should have faced my fear and faced her," Somnus expression softened, "But like before I took the easy way out and avoided my responsibility. My sister has been through a lot instead of helping her in her time of need, I chicken out and run away," Everyone could see and felt how sorrowful and regretfully he was, he noticed their eyes on him with a deep breath he straightened up, and gazed at the paused video of his sister's face, "Do you think she can forgive me? After all, I'm done?"

"Yes she will," Reno answered, "it's Astraea we are talking about, you know how forgiving she is and how many times do I need to repeat myself. You did what you have to do, so don't blame yourself for everything that has happened. It's time to move one, Your Majesty," he gave him a respectable bow.

The Founder King nodded, "Your right Reno… it's time to move one…"

"Finally!" he bellowed, "After two thousand years you finally gave in and forgive yourself," he smiled, "Don't worry Somnus everything we be fine now, Astraea is now back and safe and you can still make it up to her,"

"I hope I can Reno, I hope we can have a true reunion in the future,"

"Sure you will, Somnus!" Carbuncle chimed in, "You and Astraea and even Ardyn will meet again and will be family again and _The reunion at hand may bring joy. It may bring fear. But let us embrace whatever it brings"_

"And we will be here helping you to achieve that Somnus," Regis added.

"Thank you…Regis… Thank you all," he gazed at the others.

The others bowed their heads slightly when they met eyes with him. After a minute of silence, Cor asks a question.

"Did you take Astraea to the island Reno?"

The guardian titled his head towards him, "You know me, I will do everything for Astraea,"

"So really took Astraea in _Angelgard. Y_ou know how dangerous it is right?" Cor asked as his brows furrowed.

The red-haired crossed his arms and clicked his tongue, "Yes… and I regretted that decision," his eyes narrowed at the sphere as it showed his memory, "For I almost lost her again that night," With Reno's words the expression of the others changed. Their eyes showed concern as they gaze at him not minding the stare he got from them he turned to Aerith and said, "Aerith you were asking a while ago why did you found Astraea as an infant," the hunter nodded, "We let me show you what happened and how my flames….the flames of Rebirth did that…"

* * *

**A/N: **I want to thank all my faithful readers, for reading this far and supporting my fanfic. I know my long chapter is quite hard to read so I decided to lessen them to 6k per chapter. Sorry if my story went on and kept expanding I did not expect my OC backstory/origin will be this long but still I'm very grateful you stick with it. All of you might be wondering when will the story catch up with the game, the answer to that is I don't have a clue. After all, I wanted to venture further into the story of their normal life inside the crown city and I want to add how Ignis and Astraea relationship will blossom. So it will be great if you still stick to my story and continue to support me for this story is for you. I know I promised that this chapter will be the last segment of the Recalling of the Past but because I shortened each chapter there will be another chapter and it's the last one I promise!

THANK YOU! I hope you enjoy this and have a wonderful day and keep safe!


	30. Chapter 28

**_A/N:_** **WARNING**! Depictions of violence and manor/guest character's death.

* * *

**Recalling of the Past:_ The Flames of Rebirth  
_**_"Bet you don't know why the sun sets red… You see, light is made up of lots of colours and out of all these colours, red is the one that travels the farthest,"  
__-Axel (Kingdom Hearts)_

* * *

_"Sorry, Astraea, that is not a good idea..."_

_"Please Reno...I want to go there," she pleaded, grabbing his right hand and giving it a soft squeeze._

_"Sorry, Princess… but It's too dangerous there, please pick another place to go. I can take you anywhere just not there."_

_Astraea's demeanor changed her pleading eyes turned sharp as she let go of his hand, He gulped knowing what is going to happen next._

_"Reno, I'm ordering you to take me to Angelgard right now!"_

_"Astraea please don't do this," he whispered, his marks started to glow. "C'mon please don't force me."_

_She shook her head and remained firm. "No! Take me to Angelgard!"_

_His marks became more vibrant trying to refuse the order. But in the end, he gave in, sighing in exasperation. "Are you sure you have amnesia?"_

_"Yes, why would you ask that?"_

_"Because you're bossy as ever," he chuckled, while Astraea frowned. "I'm joking," he grabbed both of her hands and patted the top of it. "If you really want to go there, I don't have a choice to follow your command, come let's go," he dragged her towards the alleyway. "I can't fly there so we need to teleport again. I need you to hug me and do not let go okay? The island is far away and this is the first time for me to teleport that far." _

_"Will you be okay, Reno?"_

_"Don't worry about me, I will be okay," he smiled and winked at her. "Are you ready?" she nodded. "Well then let us go," he gently hugged her, his wings bursting out and engulfing them. He saw the astonishment in her eyes, with a smile he said. "Okay now...hold on tight, Princess."_

_The Fire Maiden tightened her embrace. They both glowed red with a flash of red light, they disappeared and reappeared on the rocky shoreline of the island of Angelgard. As Reno's wings disappeared, he felt on his knees gasping._

_"Reno, are you alright?" Astraea asked, trying to help the guardian back to his feet._

_"I'm fine…" he smiled. "I am just not used to teleporting that far and I have not used my ability for a while, so it takes getting used to again. Please don't worry I'm fine, how about you, are you alright?" she nodded. "Good to hear," he stood up and dusted his clothes, taking a deep breath he announced. "Astraea, welcome to the island of Angelgard." _

_The princess's eyes darted around. "Why do I feel so heavy?"_

_"Because you're standing at the center of power in of all, Eos."_

_"Oh… that explains it," she said, walking past him._

_"Be careful, Astraea, here take my hand," he guided the princess through the rocky shoreline. _

_Within minutes they arrived at the center of the island, Reno saw how Astraea's body became rigid as they stood in front of a giant rock, nine golden staves towered around it and at the center was an opening._

_"It this is-" she trailed off, gazing at the opening._

_"Yes," Reno whispered. "You don't have to go inside Astraea."_

_"No… I want to see it," shaking her head Astraea stepped forward and with a sigh he followed her and slowly entered the stone prison. _

_The first thing that greeted them as deafening silence as the noise of the crashing waves outside disappeared and the second was the stone-cold sensation. The princess hugged herself. "Is this where my brother was imprisoned?" she turned to him with disbelief written on her face. _

_He clenched his jaw and fists. "Yes… Ardyn was imprisoned here for two thousand years."_

_Astraea's expression changed from disbelief to horror then sorrow as she went towards the center of the prison. She went down and picked up a broken chain. "I can't believe my brother was imprisoned here and spent his days all alone in this darkness." she hugged the broken chain and wept. _

_He went to her side and comforted her. She cried for five minutes during which Reno kept comforting her. _

_After calming down he handed her a handkerchief which she accepted with a soft smile. "Thank you, Reno," she said wiping the tears away._

_He nodded and asked. "Are you okay?" _

_"Yes," she weakly nodded. _

_"Are you able to stand up?" she nodded. They both stood up and walked outside the stone prison._

_Outside Astraea stopped and turned to him. "Thank you for giving me a chance to see it, Reno. Now I know what I have to do," she stood straight and looked at the sky. "I need to save him no matter what, I'm going to save my brother!" she declared._

_"You will Astraea; I am sure with that." he patted her right shoulder._

_She turned to him again and smiled. "I will not be able to do this without you Reno...Thank you," she hugged him and he returned it and deepened the embrace._

_"You can always count on me, My Princess."_

_She broke the embrace and playfully punched him on the shoulder. "How many times I told you don't call me that!" _

_He bowed gracefully. "As you wish, Your Highness."_

_Astraea just frowned but after a few seconds, she started to giggle softly. He was ecstatic hearing her laughter again. He stared at her with a gentle smile. "So are you okay now? Can we go now?" she nodded. "Good! we can stay at the Galdin Quay for tonight," he said as his gaze drifted towards the changing sky. "Come...let us get out of here!" He brought her into an embrace when he felt her arms around him, he started to concentrate with a deep breath he tried to teleport, but nothing happened. 'Okay that is not good,' he thought. 'Again,' he inhaled and exhaled and tried again but nothing is happening even his wings will not come out._

_"Is there something wrong Reno?"_

_"Kinda…" he lowered his hands and stepped back. "Looks like we are stuck here for a while until I recover my strength. Teleporting here took a toll on me."_

_"Sorry about that," she lowered her head._

_"Pfft…" he snorted while waving his hand up and down, "Don't be like that... as your guardian is my duty to serve you so don't worry about it and let us take a rest here and just watch the sunset together," he sat down crossed leg. Astraea is about to sit down but he stopped her. "Wait...stop!" he said, removing his suit jacket and folding it up and laying it on the ground. "Sit here," he said, patting the folded-up clothing._

_"Thanks," she smiled and sat down._

_"You're welcome Prin-" she hissed at him to stop. "You never did change," he murmured under his breath._

_They share a moment of silence as they gaze at the sea before them. The beautiful clear blue sky is now slowly changing into a vibrant mix of orange, pink, and red as the sun started to sink on the horizon. _

_"Astraea, do you want to hear a trivia?"_

_ "Sure go ahead,"_

_"Bet you don't know why the sun sets red__," he said while looking at the setting sun._

_"No… I don't know, why?"_

_"You see, light is made up of lots of colours and out of all these colours, **red** is the one that travels the farthest,"_

_She remained silent for a while thinking about what he said. He opened his mouth but Astraea spoke first. "So you're talking about yourself then?"_

_"What are you talking about?" he asked, looking at her._

_She sighed, hugging her knees and looking at the sky. "Well you said it yourself back at the Astral realm that you've been waiting for me to wake up for two thousand years and in those years you've been looking after me and Somnus's descendants, traveling across between the two realms. That life must be very lonely for you, Reno. I'm sorry that I took so long," she gazed at him, her crimson eyes glowing brightly with the light of the setting sun. "But…I'm here now… Reno, I promise I will never leave you ever again." _

_He was speechless and he took him a minute to come up with a reply. "Yes… it was very lonely, Astraea," he said softly, leaning back and using his hands for support. "But I found comfort while watching the sunrise and sunset,"_

_"Why? _

_He pushed himself upright and gazed at her. "Because they reminded me of you. Those beautiful crimson eyes of yours and your vibrant hair, it reminded me of the Eternal Flame inside of you."_

_"Eternal Flames?" _

_"Yes… the fire that burns within you, the source of your strength and your life. Diabolos tried to extinguish it but he failed so, please Astraea," he grabbed her hands, giving a soft squeeze, he said. "Whatever happens don't ever give up and don't let your fire burn away," he gazed at her crimson eyes. "Don't let your fire be extinguished." _

_"I promise Reno, but promise me the same thing, don't ever leave my side, after all, I need your help to recover my memory."_

_"Of course I will be at your side every step of the way," he smiled._

_"Thank you, Reno…" _

_"You are always welcome...Astraea,"_

_They shared a heartfelt hug for a minute then Astraea suddenly shouted, breaking the embrace. "I almost forgot! Here this is for you Reno," from her pocket she handed him a pair of goggles._

_"Goggles? Where did you get this?" he asked._

_"Back in Insomnia, I came across this man named Cid and his family and granddaughter named Cindy. They were loading their truck with their things because they were going to move outside the city. I went and helped them load their belongings after that he gave me this as a token of his gratitude." she said, smiling brightly._

_"So what do you want me to do with it then?"_

_"Wear it of course!" she took the goggles and gently pushed it up onto his forehead. "There it's perfect!" she said, leaning back._

_"How do I look then?" he asked._

_"Dashingly handsome!" she laughed. _

_"Why thank you princess..." he bowed. "I will treasure this always," he gave her a bright smile which she returned._

**...**

"I always envy your relationship with Astraea, Reno," Carbuncle whispered, looking at his memory.

"Really why?" he asked.

Carbuncle turned to him and smiled, "For your relationship is beyond master and guardian. You two are inseparable your love and respect for one another are beyond words. That bond made you two powerful, the very same bond that even time cannot break. Not only that, you are like a big brother to her."

"Don't say that, Cally, someone might get hurt," his eyes landed on the founder King.

Somnus smiled at him and nodded. "Cally is right Reno, your more a brother to her than me."

"Oh, c'mon don't say the Somnus. I could never replace you,"

"I know our bond as siblings can't be replaced. Still, you are the best thing that ever happened to her. So please do not stop looking after her, Reno."

"You can always count on me. Somnus," Reno whacked a hand on his back. The Founder King stumbled out his chair and glared at him. He chuckled, turning his attention back to Carbuncle.

"If you want this kind of bond, Cally, try creating it with Prince Noctis. Do not just be there as his guardian, be there as his friend and companion."

"Can I King Regis?" Cally asked, turning towards the king.

"Of course Cally, Noctis will be blessed to have you as his friend."

"Regis is right Cally, just don't get overboard and be respectful, unlike a guardian I know," Somnus added, smirking at the redhead.

"HEY," the redhead shouted, crossing his arms. "I can be respectful, I just choose not to."

"That is a problem Reno; you are too rebellious and impulsive."

"You knew I got those traits from the princess right?"

"I am very much aware of them so please be the responsible one and guide Astraea into the right path."

"You got it Somnus!" he gave him a thumbs up, "I will be more impulsive and rebellious don't worry about Astraea I got her,"

"Our future is doomed," Somnus shook his head in annoyance with his remark Reno burst out laughing.

Both the founder King and guardian shared heartfelt laughter while the others just watched.

Suddenly Somnus' expression changed, his eyes softened, and his body became rigid. "What do you think would happen if I did meet her back then? If I did not turn her away. What do you think will happen to us then?" he asked.

Reno was taken aback and could not answer him right away. "…Well..." he tried off, scratching the back of his head. "For starters I would not be able to hear her voice."

The Founder King gave him an odd look. The guardian smiled sadly and gazed at the sphere, "Just watch and listen," he said, his memory resuming.

**...**

_Both Master and Guardian remained silent and watched the sun slowly dipped away. The bright and colorful sky was now replaced by the velvet sky as the star started to appear around them._

_"Astraea can I request something?" _

_"What is it?"_

_"Can you sing for me?"_

_"Sing?"_

_"Yup… back then you loved singing. Our people enjoyed it very much, your songs helped them to stay calm, and sometimes you do burst out singing out of nowhere. It is your way to express your emotions. It's kinda funny and weird at the same time." _

_"Really? Well, that explains why I did that in the park," she whispered._

_"What?" _

_"Nothing," she waved her hands. "I want to but I don't know any song lyrics,"_

_"You don't need lyrics just sing what your heart is telling you. So can you sing for me? I really want to hear your voice again." _

_She was hesitant at first but nodded. "Okay then, I will try," she slowly stood up and walked two-stepped ahead and looked down on him. He gave a thumbs up and an encouraging smile. With a deep breath, she started to sing. (FF7 Remake - "Hollow" Cover by Lizz Robinett ft. L-TRAIN)._

_Reno's entire body shivered, hearing her sweet and gentle voice again after two thousand years. He felt the emotion of her song, the sorrow, loneliness, and longing. He closed his eyes and continued to listen to her in silence after hearing her finished. He opened his eyes again to see her looking up the velvet sky. He just sat there and kept looking at her, her red hair glowed slightly in the light of the moon. 'She never did change. She still has a spark inside of her,' he thought as his mind drifted away as he gazed at the night sky._

_"Hey, Reno!" _

_He snapped out of his trance. "What?" _

_"Why do you think of my song?" she asked, sitting on her legs in front of him._

_"It's beautiful Astraea, are you sure you have amnesia? For nothing was change, you are still the same."_

_"I'm not lying, Reno. I don't remember anything!" she sat down beside him._

_"I'm joking; I'm just saying that even without your memory you are still the same as ever. The same person that I adored," _

_"Oh… Thank you," she whispered. "I hope I remember our times together,"_

_"I'm sure you will and I will be here helping you," he stood up and bowed gracefully. "I Reno, The messenger of Ifrit … offer my service to you again, Astraea Lucis Izunia. I promise to protect and stand by you always," he rose and held a hand, "Do you accept me as your guardian, Fire Maiden?" _

_She smiled brightly, held his hand, and stood up. "I would be very grateful, Reno," she hugged him; he was surprised at first but returned the hug._

_"I will never let anyone harm you ever again, Astraea," he whispered as they deepened the embrace._

_Astraea broke the embrace and smiled at him. "So do you have any other appearance?"_

_"Well, I can turn myself into a Chocobo,"_

_"A Chocobo?" she tilted her head._

_He laughed, "I'll show it to you when I recover okay and that is a promise,"_

_"Okay, I will look forward to it, my little Chocobo," she giggled._

_"Okay now...are you really sure you have amnesia?" he crossed his arms, "For someone who lost her memory you still act and talk the same," he started ruffling her hair._

_"Hey stop that!" she whined, but he kept ruffling her hair, "I SAID STOP IT!" she punched him on the stomach. This sent the guardian bending down and gasping of air. "Reno! Are you all right?" she asked frantically. _

_He went from gasping to laughing. "You are still, impulsive than ever, Princess, that is why I love you," he gave her a flirtatious winked and a smirk. This angered Astraea and pushed him. He felt on his back, still laughing as the princess cross her arms and turned the other way. "Oh! c'mon...I'm just joking, Your Highness," he sat crossed leg and put his hand on his knees. _

_The Fire Maiden glanced at him, he kept smiling, but she will not smile back. Therefore, with a deep breath, Reno's marks glowed with a flash of red light, he turned into a Chocobo. He stood straight and towered over her and her eyes went wide. "I'm not so little Am I?" he lowered his head. "So what do you think? Do I still look handsome?" he said, turning his head side to side to show off his vibrant feathers._

_"More like adorable!" she squealed, squeezing him._

_"Cant-, he said gasping, "-breathe…" _

_"Oh! Sorry!" she let go of him. Reno backed away and ruffled his feathers._

_"You haven't seen anything yet, Astraea," he boasted, his mark started to glow again before he could change. They heard a noise coming from the shoreline. Reno went back to his human form, "Go hide in the prison, Astraea," he ordered, his voice urgent and serious. She nodded and went inside the stone prison._

_Reno walked slowly towards the sound; he grabbed an Electro-Mag Rod from his pocket. When a shadow of a man came out from the corner from a rugged rock. He lunged at it; they both fell into the ground. He activated the rod and ready to attack the person beneath him._

_"STOP!" a man shouted. _

_His hand stopped in mid-air and his narrowed eyes softened at the person beneath him. He saw a trembling blonde male about Astraea's age, his hand up into the air signaling he is unarmed. He slowly stood up, his eyes not leaving the blonde._

_"Zidane!" a female with black hair shouted as she ran towards her._

_Reno deactivated his weapon and stepped back. While the female helped Zidane to his feet._

_"Who are you and how did you get here?" Reno asked._

_"I'm Zidane and this is my partner Garnet. We are both hunters and we are conducting a recon mission around cove, but the waves brought us here." He said, dusting his clothes. "How about you? Who are you and why are you here?" Zidane asked._

_"My name is Reno. My sister and I were just visiting and doing sightseeing. We got too close and we were caught by the whirlpool and were dragged here by accident."_

_"Your sister?" Both eyes of the hunter widened. _

_"Yes… our boat did not survive what about yours?" _

_"Our boat is intact," Garnet said. "We can take the two of you back to the mainland after we are done with our mission."_

_"Thank you! I pay you for your trouble." _

_"No need we are hunters that is our duty. So where is your sister, Reno?" Zidane asked._

_Reno is about to answer but without warning, it started to rain and the wave became more ferocious. Both men went and grabbed the boat and dragged towards a cave where the three of them took shelter._

_After tying the boat onto a rock Zidane turned to him. "Looks like getting out of here is out of the question. We need to wait until the storm dies down. So where is your sister Reno?"_

_Reno's eyes glanced at the opening of the cave, "You said you are a hunter right? Show me first your badge then I can trust you,"_

_Both hunters looked at each other in confusion but obliged as per his request and showed him their dog tags. Reno studied them for a while and after confirming that they were real hunters. He asked them to stay so that he could go get Astraea. For he did not want them to see the stone prison. They obliged and let him fetch the princess._

**...**

"I know them," Dave said, they all glanced at him. "Zidane Tribal and Garnet Alexandros. They were our new recruits and I just gave a simple mission. A Reconnaissance mission on the shore of the Quay. I never thought that they went towards the island of Angelgard for I never heard of them again after that night. Do you know what happened to them, Reno?"

The redhead lowered his head before he could answer. Clarus interjected, asking a question "Wait, you said that they are Astraea's parents back in the council room and you said that they died protecting, Astraea. So, what is the truth Reno, who are they really?"

He raised his head and turned towards the shield. "Dave is right, Zidane and Garnet are hunters and that story about them being princess's parents was a lie. I made it on the spot so that Astraea would not ask any question about her past or her parents," he breathed. "I know it's stupid but what is done is done. After all, we still need to hide the truth from Astraea, so please support my made-up story and do not let anything information that you require slip away, especially in front of her. That is my only request." They all nodded.

"So… them dying is a lie too?" Dave asked.

Reno lowered his head again, "I wish I could say that. They really did protect Astraea and died in the crossfire… I felt sorry for them because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Hearing his explanation Dave decided not to ask further more questions and continued to watch the memory.

**...**

_Reno arrived at the stone prison and told Astraea what happened and asked her to follow him. While walking towards the cave Reno told her to play along and tell them that they were siblings. When they arrived at the cave, they saw the hunters had already made a bonfire. They went further inside, stopping in front of them._

_Astraea met gaze with them and smiled. "Hi!" she bowed; both hunters stood up and bow as well._

_Reno cleared his throat and started to introduce them. "Astraea….this is Z-"_

_The blonde hunter suddenly went in front and introduced himself in dramatic fashion. "Zidane…" he grabbed Astraea's right hand. "Zidane Tribal...at your service… fair maiden," the hunter is about to kiss Astraea's hand, but Reno stopped him by yanking him by the collar._

_"What do you think you are doing!" he hissed._

_"Ouch, that hurt!" Zidane whined. "Let go of me!"_

_"Not a chance! Don't touch my sister!" Reno barked._

_Zidane kicked Reno in the knee, which made the guardian drop him, and they scuffle a bit._

_ As they continued to scuffled Reno saw at the corner of his eyes that Garnet went introducing herself to Astraea._

_"Hello… my name is Garnet...Garnet Alexandros."_

_"Hi! My name is Astraea Izunia… please to meet you," they both shook hands. _

_Both the Hunter and the Guardian continue to fight for a minute and they break apart._

_"Had enough?" Reno smirked as he grabbed his weapon out of his pocket._

_"No. How about you?" Zidane retorted back while drawing two daggers from behind._

_They are about to lunge at each other again but a sound stopped them on their tracks._

_"Ahem!"_

_Both males looked at the source of the sound to find two glaring females looking at them with their hands crossed. Both their bodies stiffened as they stood straight._

_"Sit!" both females ordered._

_The blonde and redhead both took a seat without question. "Bossy…" both males grumbled under their breath._

_"What?" both females glared at them._

_"Nothing!" they both answered, sitting up straight._

_The Hunter and the Princess glanced at each other then they burst out laughing. Reno and Zidane followed soon. After composing themselves the four found them talking to each other while sitting in front of the fire. Both hunters are sitting beside each other and introduced themselves properly again and told them that they were partners and stated their mission. While Reno introduced himself and Astraea. Reno made up a lie that they were tourists from Insomnia and doing sightseeing, which Astraea quickly followed on. Accepting their reason Zidane and Garnet continued to share their story about their life being hunters in which Astraea eyes lit up. Garnet even mentions Zack and Aerith Lumina to them that if they ever need help ask for them for they were the top hunters in all of Lucis._

_"Can I ask a hunter to search for someone for me?" Astraea asked._

_"Yes, that is one of our duties. We might be able to help you, who are you looking for exactly? Zidane asked._

_"Our older brother," she answered. _

_Before Reno could stop her. Astraea told them about Ardyn and described how he looked. But just like their backstory the Princess lied and told them that they were separated because of the war and were looking for him._

_"Sorry, Astraea but we never saw someone with that description. Maybe you can go to the Hunter HQ and ask Dave Auburnbrie, our leader about him or better yet go to Zack and Aerith Lumina for help." Garnet said._

_"Thanks, we keep that in mind…but first, let us get out of here." Reno said, turning at the cave opening. "Looks like the storm has stopped," he stood up and walked outside._

_The trio followed him; they all breathed a sigh of relief seeing the moon hovering above. Suddenly the air around them became cold. A thick fog appeared out of nowhere and surrounded them. They could hear growling and hissing all around them._

_"Daemons!" Reno growled, taking out his weapon from his pocket. _

_Zidane drew his daggers, taking a step forward. "Garnet go inside the cave and stay there and protect Astraea," _

_"Be careful... Zidane," Garnet whispered._

_"Reno…" Astraea grabbed his right forearm, "Be careful,"_

_"Don't worry about me go with Garnet... she will protect you."_

_She reluctantly let go of his hand as Garnet dragged her away._

_Reno and Zidane ready themselves as the sounds kept getting closer and closer. Suddenly a katana of a Ronin came out of the fog and headed towards the hunter. Reno was able to block it with his weapon. The impact was so strong that he was sent skidding a few feet. Because of that, he got separated from Zidane. The Ronin slashed downward; he did a somersault and kicked the blade of the Daemon upward. With a click, he activated the Electro-Mag rod and plunged it into the stomach of the Daemon but it did not faze the Ronin, as it continued to attack. Reno somersaulted away from the daemon attack. "Tough guy huh..." he hissed, "let's see if you can handle my flames!" With the rod on his left hand, he summoned a fire spell on his right hand and cast it towards the Ronin. It engulfed the daemon completely and killed it in an instant. Before he could recover, several daemons appeared and surrounded him. "Looks like I need to be serious now," he smirked, pocketing the rod away. He cracked his knuckles before they turned into talons. "I show you the power of a phoenix!" his hair glowed together with his eyes. He gave one last devilish smirk as he lunged forward. He continued to fight the daemons around him and because of the fog he could not see anything, but he could hear Zidane fighting in the distance._

_"Yo! Zidane are you still alive!" He shouted as he slashed a goblin in half._

_"Yup! How about you!" _

_"Just Peachy!" he replied as he finished the last demon in front of him._

_The __Ereshkigal turned into smoke with that he breathed a sigh of relief and dusted his suit and went back to the cave. To see Zidane standing in the entrance with Garnet and Astraea. The fog started to disappear. The Princess saw him and went running towards him._

_"Reno!"_

_"HEY!' he shouted back._

_The princess went for a hug, "Are you alright? I was worried?"_

_"I'm fine," he said, deepening the embrace then he stepped back turned towards the hunter. _

_"You're quite a good fighter Reno," Zidane praised._

_"You not so bad yourself Zidane."_

_They smiled as each other went for a high five._

_"Let us get out of her," Garnet said._

_"Right!" Zidane bellowed. "Let me get the boat. I have enough of this island; it gave me the creeps!" the blonde said to his partner as they both entered the cave._

_While Reno stayed with Astraea on the shoreline._

_"Are you really okay, Reno?" she asked, examining the wounds on his face._

_"I'm fine… don't worry it will heal in no time, Princess."_

_Astraea glared at him and crossed her arms. He just chuckled as the sight of it. _

_"Hey, guys! the boat is ready c'mon!" Zidane shouted, waving his hands, Garnet standing beside him._

_"Let's go, Astraea," she nodded, and they started to walk towards them._

_Suddenly the boat exploded. Both hunters were thrown in the air and landed in front of them._

_"Garnet!" Astraea shouted and went towards her. While Reno went towards Zidane. _

_"Zidane are you alright?" _

_The blonde nodded weakly. "Garnet?" he asked. "How is she?"_

_Reno turned towards the princess and hunter and seeing Astraea's expression he knew that the female hunter did not make it._

_"She's..." he could not finish his sentence as he gazed at him sadly._

_"DARN!" Zidane hissed. "I should have said… that I love he-" before he could finish his sentence he perished in Reno's arms._

_"DAMN IT!" he hissed as he lowered Zidane's body on the ground. _

_He ran towards the princess who is now crying. He glared at the burning debris on the shoreline and crouched down. "Astraea we need to get out of here!" He tried to help her up._

_"We can't leave them here RENO!"_

_"Please need to go befo-"_

_A maniacal laughter cut him off, echoing around them. He grabbed Astraea and hugged her protectively as a figure appeared before them. _

_The figure was wearing a mismatched set of clothes and a red cloak. He has blonde hair tied into a ponytail with a giant white feather. His face was covered with white make-up and had a red eyeshadow around his eyes._

_"A jester?" Astraea whispered._

_"Kefka!" Reno hissed as he tightened the embrace._

_"Oohhh… It is nice seeing you again Reno! How long has it been?" he asked whimsically. _

_The Guardian's fingers turned into talons and his marks glowed brightly. _

_"…Reno"_

_ He could hear Astraea's worried voice, glancing down he saw how frightened she was. "Don't worry Astraea, I will protect you,"_

_"Oh, it's the princess! How rude of me! I never introduced myself," Kefka said, bouncing up into the air. "My name is Kefka, Your Highness," he mockingly bowed. "The one and only…. The Messenger of Diabolos!"_

_"Diabolos!" Astraea eyes widened in horror._

_"My master was surprised when he felt your flames again. So, he sent me to see what was up! Sorry about your friends, are they okay?" he playfully asked, looking down at the bodies._

_Reno and Astraea did not reply and just glared at him. _

_Kefka laughed. "Sorry about your boat I could not help it. It is always fun if everything goes KA-BOOM!" he frowned seeing them glaring at him. "Enough about that-" he waved his hand playfully, his eyes focused on the cowering Princess, "my master wanted to see you again, Princess. Will you go with me? Don't worry I will not hurt you," he extended his hand. "Come... your brother is waiting for you, Princess," he grinned._

_"Over my dead body!" Reno barked, stepping forward and extending his talons and summoning a fire spell in his right hand._

_"That could be arranged," he smirked. "Haya!" Kefka cast Thundaga at him, Reno countered it with Firaga. The two spells collided and exploded causing a shockwave of dirt and smoke. Which caused both Guardian and Princess to be hurled off in a different direction. _

_"Astraea!" Reno shouted, digging his talons in the dirt to stop him from skidding._

_"LET ME GO!"_

_When the smoke settled his eyes narrowed seeing Astraea being held by a Ronin. The princess kept on thrashing, so the daemons forced her on her knees and bent her arms behind her back._

_"Don't touch her!" Reno snarled, lunging forward._

_"Peekaboo!" Kefka shouted, appearing in front of him._

_"Get out of my way!" he clawed Kefka but the Clown was able to avoid his attack and bounced away._

_Reno summoned two fireballs again but he stopped immediately when the daemon summoned his sword and held the blade on the princess's neck._

_"I won't do that if I were you," Kefka laughed. "You don't want her to die right?"_

_The redhead's eyes widened as he dispelled the spell. "That's better be a good little phoenix and obey my order if not she will die," Reno snarled, taking a step forward his hair and marks glow. "AH AH…" Kefka wagged his left index finger, "Don't do anything stupid Guardian or she will die!" Astraea gasped as the blade pressed against her neck drawing blood._

_Reno froze in place, his hand falling down his side, his talons turning into fingers again._

_"HA HA HA!" Kefka laughed while floating. "Not so tough now, Reno," he grinned while the Guardian just snarled. The Clown waved his hands in annoyance and floated towards the princess. "Nice to see you again, Fire Maiden," he snickered, raising the princess's chin. "Etro, really did give you a second chance, What a surprise!"_

_"DON'T TOUCH HER!" Reno shouted._

_"Oh...what are you going to do huh! Take one-step and she is toast!" Kefka shouted, pointing a thunder spell at her._

_"What do you want!" Reno shouted through gritted teeth._

_"Diabolos wanted to see the Fire Maiden again. But you on the other hand he wanted you dead… So, bye-bye!" he blasted Reno with a Thundaga. _

_"RENO!" Astraea screamed._

_Reno avoided the spell with ease and lunged. Kefka quickly pointed his finger at the princess yet again and summoned a spell circle under her. Seeing this he stopped on his tracks immediately and this gave Kefka a chance to attack him. The Thundaga spell hit him directly on the chest, sending him flying and crashing into one of the staves. He slid down and fell on his knees and hands gasping for air as the electricity surged through his body._

**...**

Reno's fingers twitched for a bit, his body shuddered as he watched his memory unfold.

"Reno…" Carbuncle jumped on his lap. "Are you okay, should we stop?"

"NO!" he hissed his memory stopping.

Carbuncle flinched for a bit hearing his angry voice. He noticed her reaction; he sighed, his tense shoulder eased a bit as he looked down at his fellow guardian. "Sorry, Cally, don't worry about me I'm fine...let us continue!"

"Are you sure?" Somnus asked.

"I'm sure… let us get this over with! I want this night to end already!"

The others glanced at each and nodded. With a deep breath, Reno continued his memory.

**...**

_"Reno!"_

_He could hear the frantic voice of his master begging him to fight back. With a snarl, he stood up and glared at his enemy._

_Kefka just snickered at him, his skin turning purple. "Let's finish this!" purple flames engulfed Kefka and when the flames died down his appearance had changed. He became more __muscular, six wings protruding on his back, four purple feather wings and two bat wings. It beat slowly as he levitated. "Is that all you got?" Kefka teased. "So much for the last phoenix."_

_Reno suddenly burst into flames within seconds he burst out in his phoenix form._

_"Now this is going to be fun!" Kefka laughed. "Dance, dance!" he cast multiple spells at the guardian. _

_"Verflare!" flapping of his massive wing, Reno countered it with his own flames._

_The spell collided and caused a shockwave. Kefka became disoriented and it gave him a chance to swoop down and attacked the Ronin that was holding Astraea._

_"Astraea jump on!" he shouted. The princess quickly straddled him. _

_Kefka was able to recover and cast Thundaga at them. He avoided every single strike of thunder. "VEFLA-" he choked as he felt his strength suddenly left him. With a flash of red light, he was forcefully returned to his human form. _

_This gave the messenger of Diabolos to strike. "Thundaga!"_

_He quickly shielded Astraea with his wings. He screamed as the thunder struck him. Both went plummeting down towards the rocky shoreline. He gasped as he impacted the rocks. Shaking his head, he looked around to see Astraea unconscious near him._

_He stood up and reached for his master. "Astraea…" _

_"No, you don't!" Kefka dove down and kicked him._

_His back collided with a rock, he gasped falling on his knees again._

_"Oh... did I overdid it again?" Kefka asked mockingly, hovering between him and Astraea. _

_Seeing Astraea's many wounds Reno could not help but glared at the daemon, "You will burn!" he snarled__, standing up._

_Kefka laughed hysterically. "Do you think you can beat me?"_

_Reno's fingers turned into talons and lunged. Kefka just bounced and avoided his attack and attacked him from behind with a thunder spell again._

_Reno fell on his face near his master. He opened his right eye to see Astraea waking up._

_"Reno…" Astraea whispered._

_"Don't worry Astraea… I'm going to protect you…" he pushed himself up and went in front of Astraea._

_"Toying with you is fun Reno, but my master is not very patient…" he landed in front of him. "Looks like I need to end this." he snarled._

_Reno tried to move but his wound and his body will not let him._

_With a last grinned Kefka floated up and turned upside down. "HAVOC WING!" the daemon's wings extended and went towards him._

_Reno could not help but closed his eyes but the pain never came. When he opened his eyes, his heart dropped, and his face drained of all colors as he saw Astraea in front of him with multiple puncture wounds caused by Kefka's attack._

_"Astra-ea.…" he choked as the Fire Maiden fell to his arms. "NO!" he shouted._

_"Reno…" Astraea coughed, gazing at his eyes. "Sorry… looks like I can't fulfill my calling after all…"_

_"No, don't say that!" he cried, cradling her. _

_"Save my brother for me… Reno…" Astraea murmured, closing her eyes gently._

_"No! Do not do this Astraea! Not again…." Reno wailed. "Don't leave me...PLEASE!"_

_"Oh-uh I did an Oopsie," Kefka laughed, bouncing around them._

**...**

The other gasped seeing Astraea dying in Reno's arms.

"Don't worry she did not die," they all turned towards the redhead guardian. They were surprised to see him crying. "I would never let her die again…" he whispered. "I did what I have to do…" he turned to them, "…I used my flames on her."

**...**

_"Please...Astraea… Please do not die… not again please…" the guardian whimpered, his tears falling on the princess's cheeks._

_"Well Diabolos could heal her…" Kefka leaned down. "Just surrender yourself and her to the darkness and everything will be fine."_

_Reno slowly lowered Astraea to the ground and stood up, wiping his tears his body glowed bright red. "Never! as long as my fire burns bright. I never surrender to the darkness!" his wings burst out from his back, Kefka jumped out the way. "As long as my flame burns you will never have her!" he snarled. _

_"We will see about that!" Kefka cast Thundaga at him._

_Reno defected it with his wings. "My turn," he said, his eyes narrowing at the daemon. It did not faze Kefka; instead, he lunged at him. The Phoenix's left talons burst into flame. Kefka did not have time to stop with the last of his strength Reno plunged his talons to the daemon's chest._

_Kefka howled, staggering backward as the puncture wound caught on fire. "Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" the daemon screamed as flames ran down his body. "__Graaah! remember this Reno! Diabolos will not stop until she is dead or fallen into darkness!"_

_"Not on my watch…" he snickered, pointing his talons at him. "Just died already," he cast Fira on him._

_The daemon body burst into flames. "This is not over yet. We still have an ace in our hands! HAHAHAHA!" Kefka laughed one last time before turning into ash._

_The Guardian fell to his knees gasping. "Astraea!" He turned around and ran to his master._

_The princess was barely alive; she was pale and unresponsive, he slowly cradled her. "Princess...?" Astraea slowly opened her eyes. "Everything we will be all right Astraea, I can heal you," he wept, his tears falling on her wounds, but it did not heal it. "C'mon please work!" he hissed, trying again. "No! Work dammit!" he shouted._

**...**

"It was not working because I used all my power to defeat Kefka," Reno quickly said before anyone could ask. "And being a messenger, Kefka has the same power level as mine so my healing ability won't work. I could not heal her, not only that I do not even have a potion at that time. I was unprepared after all, I never imagined that Diabolos would attack us." he stared sadly at his memory. "I don't want to lose her again… so I don't have a choice..." he took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. "Even if I know what the consequence of my action is. Without wasting any time, I used the Flames of Rebirth on her, for that was the only thing that could save her."

**...**

_ "__Astraea…" Reno whispered, brushing Astraea's pale cheek. "Do you trust me?" she weakly nodded. "Okay, I will use the flames of rebirth on you Princess... it will turn you into a baby. You have to relive your childhood without any memory whatsoever, are you okay with that?" he asked._

_Astraea stared at him for a bit and nodded. "Okay then...don't worry I will always watch over you." He leaned his forehead onto her, his wings bursting into flame and running down on his arms into Astraea. "A call upon the immortal flames, bestow your blessing unto the Fire Maiden, die and be reborn once more from the ashes." he paused and took a last gaze at the dying princess, he gave one last smile and kissed her on the forehead and whispered. "Good night...my princess…" Astraea slowly closed her eyes as the flames engulfed her body; Reno cradled her more closely as he whispered, "Flames of Rebirth." _

_Both burst into flames after a few minutes the flames died down, He opened his eyes slowly and looked down to see a baby. Even in that form, Astraea's red hair is still visible, she slowly opened her eyes to reveal that she still has crimson eyes. _

_"Cute…" Reno could help but awed how cute the princess was. _

_Suddenly she started to stir, and then she cried in his arms. "Shhhhh… don't cry Astraea… I am here… I will never let anyone hurt you ever again," he whispered._

* * *

THANK YOU! I hope you enjoy this and have a wonderful day and keep safe!


	31. Chapter 29

_**A/N:**_Sorry about not publishing for three weeks, but I'm back now and will try to post once a week again.

* * *

**A New life, A New Calling  
**"_You can't escape your fate or forget about your destiny," -Astraea Izunia_

* * *

The others were speechless yet again as they were startled and horrified. Somnus clenched his fists as he saw how Reno cradled her sister. He could not believe it that his past action led to that for like the others this is the first time he saw Reno's memory. He closed his eyes as he felt the guilt of what he had done to his sister.

_I'm sorry, Astraea, I should have been there. I should have protected you. Can you ever forgive me? Can you forgive your big brother? _He slowly opened his eyes and gazed at the memory._ I just want to protect you. It was so stupid of me to let you go. I thought I was shielding you from the pain from our past. Can you ever forgive me Astra..? for everything… for not being there and casting you out._

"_**She will forgive you, Somnus. "**_

_After hearing King Regis's voice inside his head, Somnus glanced his eyes at him. _

"_**Sorry for the intrusion, but I can't just help it. The ring made me hear all your thoughts. I apologize..."**_

"_**You don't have to apologize, Regis," **__he replied to him, his gaze returning towards the memory. _

"_**So that is the reason you did that. You were protecting her."**_

"_**Yes, that is the reason. I did that to protect just like what you're trying to achieve back then, after knowing that Noctis has to sacrifice himself to save Eos. You pleaded towards the Astrals, towards us you even ask to take his place."**_

Regis gazed at the ring of the Lucii before responding. _"__**Yes, I remember… I mourned for the fate of my Son. I thought I could not change his fate, that I need to accept the prophecy. As the sole protector of the Crystal, I have a duty to uphold. As King, I need to protect the people and the world, and to do that a sacrifice must be made. But I could not do that to my son. I could not let him die. I wanted him to live, to fall in love, to have a family, to grow old and die peacefully. I wanted to change his fate."**_

"_**You cannot change fate, trust me, Regis. For the past two thousand years, I keep trying to change our fate, but every time I do it, fate always finds a way and we can't win against it." **__he sighed.__** "Astraea always believes that **__**you can't escape your fate or forget about your destiny.**__** So instead of fighting it, we need to accept and face it head-on. That is the only thing we can do." **_

Regis nodded slightly**.**_** "The title Founder King suits you, Somnus," **_he glanced at him, with a smile, he said._ "__**For you never gave up… you took all the hardship and made it your strength. I truly admire your persistence. I wish I could be that strong when fate calls me."**_

"_**You can be Regis, your Caelum," **_Somnus shook his head slightly._**"No, I mean a... Izunia and we the Izunia, never back down and will always fight with all our might. Trust in yourself, Regis."**_

"_**Thank you, I will do everything I can to help Astraea and Noctis. I will protect them with my life."**_

"_**No... let us protect them together as a family," **_With a nod, Somnus finished their conversation.

During that time of the telepathic conversation of the two monarchs, the others felt silence as they settled down. Nobody noticed what the two Kings were doing except for the two Guardians. Reno silently gazed at the two monarchs. He wanted to join but decided not to, in respect to them. When he saw them they were ready to move on. He broke the silence with a sigh. "So is everyone ready to continue? For I wanted this over with," The others nodded with that his memory resumed.

…

"_Don't cry, Astraea… I'm here," he hummed as he cradled her more closely. The princess stopped crying and fell asleep. He took a sigh of relief, after making sure the princess was comfortable. He looked around and hissed as he saw the destruction and the bodies of the hunters. He cursed himself for letting this happen; he was thinking about what course of action he will do next. Suddenly Astraea stirred and shivered in his arms, snapping him out of his thoughts. He held her close as Astraea started shivering. He tried using his power to warm up the princess, but the fight tired him out and could not even summon a small fire. With a sigh of frustration, he gazed around and saw a basket and a blanket near him. Slowly he stood up and grabbed it. He carefully wrapped the blanket around the sleeping princess and gently put her inside the basket. Then he walked back inside the stone prison. He lowered the basket down in the middle of the prison and sat beside it. "What now?" he asked, as he gazed down at the basket. Astraea was peacefully sleeping. Her wounds vanished as if the fight never happened. "I'm glad you're safe, Astraea," he whispered as he stroked her on the right cheek. He flinched and gasped when Astraea grabbed his finger. Because of this, the princess stirred a bit, then went back to sleep. He sighed and let Astraea hold his finger as he calmed down. _

_**...**_

"Did you know that will happen? That your flames will heal her?" Aerith asked.

The Guardian paused his memory before turning to her. "Well-" he trailed off, "to be honest it surprised me that my flames work on her," all of them gave him a shock expression. He saw all of their eyes on him. Scratching the back of his head, he sighed. "I knew it was stupid of me, but I took that risk. You can't blame me, for I was running out of options that night. I don't have any potions, my tears won't work and because of my fight with that stupid clown," he snarled. "I lost a lot of stamina and I can't teleport back to the crown city. So, using the Flames of Rebirth is my last resort. I'm very thankful that work," his voice became low and sincere as he slouched his shoulders. "I took that risk because I wanted her to live so I could not see her dying again… not again," he sighed. "I was thankful that I saved her that time that I did not just watch her die again. But I must admit Astraea turning into a baby is quite a predicament. But still, something good came out of it."

"What do you mean, Reno?" Cor asked.

Reno's eyes gleamed as he gazed at the Marshal. "While I saved Astraea from certain doom. I accidentally gave her a bit of my ability."

"Your ability?"

"Yup!" he chimed. "My regenerative healing."

"That explains it," Somnus interjected. "I was wondering where she got it from."

"Well… if you did not cast her out in the first place that would not happen." Reno scoffed while glancing at the Founder King.

"We've been through this, Reno, how many times do we need to fight like this. I already admitted it's my fault."

The redhead saw the guilt in the monarch's face. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bring that back," he sighed. "And I'm sorry that I'm acting like this, it's the memory I can't help it."

"I know Reno, it's affecting me too, and just like you, I wanted this over with. We only just need to show them what happened next and why Astraea ended up in Lumina's care."

"Okay then… let us finish this." Reno gazed at the others with their nod of approval he continued his memory.

_**...**_

"_Cally…" he whispered. "Where are you? I need you now… please come…" he closed his eyes slowly after a few seconds he felt the messenger of Bahamut arriving. "Cally?" he gazed at the opening. He frowned as he saw Somnus standing in the entrance with Carbuncle on his shoulder. "Oh, it's you… I thought you didn't want to see her." _

_The Founder King walked towards him. His eyes gazed at him, then slid down at the basket. "Is she saf-" _

"_Safe..." Reno interjected and glared at him. "No, thanks to you." _

_Somnus' expression turned sour. "I know you won't forgive me for this. But please understand, I only did that so I can protec-" _

"_It's that what you call protecting?" he scoffed. "She almost lost her life again, because you cast her out!" Reno's voice rose as he stood up; his fingers turned into talons. "And all because you chickened out, and you called yourself her big brother!"_

"_I…" Somnus trailed off. _

"_I WHAT!" he shouted and grabbed him by the collar of his cloak and because of the ruckus, Astraea woke up and started crying. "See! she is like that because of you! you failed her as a brother!" _

_Somnus snapped. "ME! How about you!" he grabbed Reno's collar. "I remembered you just watched her die, you just stood there you did not do anything! So if you're going to judge me for my action look at yourself in the mirror first, Reno. You'll be suprised to see a useless guardian!"_

_As the two exchanged hurtful words, Astraea kept on crying. _

"_At least I was there for her until her last breath and did not cast her out. The only thing you're good at is making her cry! I wish I could kill you so that you can feel the pain she felt!" _

_Somnus tightened his grip and about to reply, but suddenly a barrier appeared between them, it expanded and flung them a few feet away. The Fox Guardian is now beside the princess with a mini barrier around the basket. _

"_ENOUGH!" Carbuncle shouted and glared at them. Both men grunted as they rose to their feet. "You're fighting won't get us to nowhere!" she cried. "This is what Diabolos wanted... for us to fight each other. Don't let what happened in the past happen now! Astraea needs the two of you more than ever, so please stop fighting for her sake." _

_After the guardian's rant, a long silent befell the trio. Somnus gazed at her and then towards his sister, who was sleeping crying inside the barrier. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Cally is right…" he whispered. "Sorry Reno, I know my action was wrong, I put both of you in danger and I almost jeopardize the fate of Eos...I cast her out because I wanted her to start a new life and with her memory gone she can do that…" he said while meeting eyes with the guardian. "I wanted her to just forget about everything that had happened. I wanted to give her a second chance to live without being hurt, free from any heartache, and safe from Diabolos's clutches even if it is just for a bit. I wanted her to enjoy her life before fulfilling her calling," he walked and stood beside the basket. "I did not expect this to happen. I did not expect Diabolos would be able to track her down this quickly and because of that stupid decision this happened to you...I'm sorry, Astraea…. I'm so sorry." he reached through the barrier and stroked his sister's head gently. "Please forgive me...my dear sister…" Astraea started to calm down as he continued to stroke her head._

_Reno's anger faded, seeing the guilt in Somnus' eyes. With a sigh, he went towards the sibling and crouched beside them. "Do not take all the blame, Somnus. It is my fault too as her guardian I failed her. I should have protected her and looks like Diabolos won this time yet again. I don't want to admit it… but starting to lose hope," he let his gaze go downward. _

"_Don't say that, Reno!" Cally exclaimed, jumping to his shoulder. "Our fight is still not over. There is still hope… Prince Noctis, The King of Light is now born. We waited for two thousand years but he is here now… our hope and light. He will help us and vanquish the darkness forever, please don't lose hope. Not only that the Princess will be devastated and she will be mad, do you want that Reno? Do you want to feel the wrath of the Fire Maiden?" she joked. _

"_Yeah… I don't want that, Astraea's wrath is nothing to joke about," he chuckled. "But you're right, Cally, I must not lose hope… Thank you," Reno nodded at her. Then he turned to Somnus. "Sorry for all the things I said, wanting you dead. I can't help it; I've been waiting for two thousand years for her to wake up just to see her almost dying again. I could not control my emotion so I apologize for my action, Founder King." _

"_I accept your apology if you accept mine. Sorry for casting you both out and please forgive me for not being here. I didn't expect for Diabolos to locate both of you. Did Astraea use her ability for Diabolos to locate her?" _

_Reno shook his head. "No, but I remembered what Kefka said about Diabolos sensing Astraea's presence. He must have found her after we left Insomnia." _

"_So now he knows that Astraea is back and like before he will try to kill her again." he sighed. "We need to protect her, Reno. Will you help me?" _

"_Why are you asking me that?" he joked. "Of course, that is what family are for. Our fighting will not lead us to nowhere now so, Sommy, no hard feelings?" Reno held his hand up and smiled. _

_Somnus gazed at his extended hand first before firmly shaking it. "Yes… no hard feelings." _

"_Finally!" Carbuncle chimed in. "I thought I needed to separate the two of you," she jumped to her former master's shoulder. "So, what now?" _

"_We go home…" Somnus slowly took Astraea out from the basket and cradled her. "Let us return her home." Both Guardians nodded. As they walked to the entrance, Carbuncle jumped towards Reno and wrapped her tail around his fellow guardian's neck. When they step outside, they were surprised to find the High Messenger it herself waiting for them. _

"_High Messenger, Gentiana…" both guardians bowed toward the leader of the Divine Messengers. _

"_Greetings Founder King." she bowed. "The Draconian had summoned… so please come with me to the Astral realm." _

_They all nodded and with a flash of light they transported in the Astral realm where the Bahamut is waiting for them. _

"_Greetings, Draconian," Somnus bowed slightly, still holding Astraea in his arms. _

"_Rise, Founder King," Bahamut ordered, then glanced at two guardians. _

_The redhead huffed and crossed his arms. "Yeah… Greetings." _

"_Reno..." Carbuncle whispered. _

"_What?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. _

"_Be professional, please… I know you have beef with The Draconian but please forget about that." _

_He mumbled. "Fine… I'm just doing this for Astraea's sake." he turned towards Bahamut and bowed gracefully. "Greetings, Bahamut… I apologize for my behavior." _

"_Thee are forgiven, Guardian," Bahamut said. _

…

"Why are you angry with Bahamut in the first place, Reno?" Dave asked. "You're a Messenger, right? You should not be acting like that towards the Astrals, especially with The Draconian."

Reno frowned. "I will not say the reason why... but I don't like Bahamut that much, after all, I'm a Messenger of Ifrit and I am only loyal to him and Astraea."

Dave accepted his answer and gestured to him to continue so Reno snapped his fingers again and his memory resumed.

_**...**_

_Carbuncle greeted the Astral she served. "Greeting Draconian, why did you summon us here?" _

"_To warn thee that Diabolos is now aware of The Fire Maiden. We have to act now and protect the future of Eos." _

"_Yeah, no kidding," Reno mumbled, shifting to his feet. _

_The Founder King turned to him and shook his head disapprovingly before looking back at Bahamut. "If I may Bahamut, how did Diabolos was made aware of Astraea being back in the first place and how was his messenger able to set foot at Angelgard?" _

_Gentiana stepped forward. "Let me answer your question, Founder King. Even with his treachery, Diabolos is still an Astral, and Kefka is no different; he is still a divine messenger. We can't keep any Messengers away from the island whether which Astrals they serve." _

"_But I thought we were able to lock them back in the Dark Realm. How did he escape?" Somnus asked again. _

"_Diabolos' strength is now returning. It's now a matter of time before the Dark Astral will return and plunge Eos in darkness once again." _

_**... **_

"Is that the same Dark realm where Diabolos took Astraea and Noctis?" Regis asked.

"Yes, it's the same," Reno answered as he paused his memory.

"What exactly is the Dark realm anyway," Clarus asked.

"It's where the Starscourge is born, where the Chaos from people's hearts gathers. It's the source of Diabolos power and his prison."

"Wait so he was sealed there yet again? I thought he was inside Lord Ardyn, what changed?"

"Yeah… about that…" Reno trailed off, glancing at Somnus.

The former champion nodded. "I will answer your question, Cor," The Marshall nodded. "About 800 years ago, Diabolos was able to go out of my brother's body and tried to unleash the Starscourge again. With the help of Queen Crepera, The Rouge was able to stop him and with the help of Bahamut we were able to seal him back into the Dark realm but something bad happened."

"Something bad, what do you mean?"

Somnus turned towards Regis and said. "Bahamut was able to seal Diabolos but before he was sealed Diabolos was able to put a curse on Bahamut as well."

"And that is?" Regis asked again.

"Sealing the Draconian inside the Crystal of Light where the Astral realm is located." Somnus saw the disbelief in their eyes without waiting for their response he continued. "That is the reason Bahamut disappeared in the realm of the Living. Both the Light and Dark Astrals were imprisoned in their realms, waiting for the King of Light to be born."

"Why?" Cor asked again. "Why is the Prince so important?"

"For the Prince was two main goals, first is to free Bahamut from his prison, and second is to kill Diabolos," Carbuncle answered. "That makes The King of Light so important he is our only hope of defeating Diabolos."

"Hey!" Reno interjected. "Don't forget about Astraea, she is our hope too."

"Oops… Sorry, Reno," Carbuncle said. "But the princess has a different role to fulfill, right? Her calling is different from the prince."

"Don't worry about it, Cally, but you are right," he smiled at her. "Astraea has a different calling," he saw that Dave was about to ask a question, so he stopped him and said. "If you want to know what I mean, just continue to watch my memory, for it is better this way." Dave nodded with the others and with that he resumed his memory.

…

"_Did Diabolos escape his imprisonment?" Somnus asked. _

_Gentiana shook her head. "The Dark Astral is still locked in the Dark Realm, but he is trying to control your brother once again and take his body." _

"_Ardyn's body, why?" Somnus asked. _

"_Thy brother is still under the control of the Whispers and they are trying to corrupt his body, mind, and soul. So that the Dark Astral could take over his body as his own." Bahamut answered him. Both Somnus and Reno face paled hearing that. _

"_Do not frit, Founder King, Lord Ardyn can still save." Gentiana said."His body and mind had fallen into darkness, but we can still save his soul. The Fire Maiden can still save him and bring him back to the light, and with his return, the three of them could defeat Diabolos once and for all." _

_Somnus's expression softened with a sigh he gazed down at his sister. "Are you sure my sister will be able to save him?" _

"_Yes," Bahamut answered. "The Flames of Purification can help the Accursed. That is the Fire Maiden's new calling. To save The Healer of the people and bring him back into the light but to do that we need to wait for the right time to act." _

"_Right time to act... so what will happen to my sister now? Can you change her back, Bahamut?" _

"_I can't reverse the effect of The Flames of Rebirth. For now, the princess was to relive her childhood yet again." _

"_So that means she can have a normal life?" Somnus asked. "She can stay in Insomnia. King Regis could take care of her… I could take care of her." _

"_That will be the best option now," Reno said, "We can raise them both so that they can live together as a family, they can even be brother and sister. I know it is not the right time but we don't have a choice but to reveal the truth to King Regis so that he can take care of both of them with our help of course. Am I right, Sommy and Cally?" he smiled at both of them, Somnus and Carbuncle nodded and smiled back, agreeing in his remark. Then they all turned towards Gentiana and Bahamut only to find them frowning. _

"_Why the long faces?" The redhead asked jokingly. _

"_The Champion of Ifrit can't stay in Insomnia," Bahamut said blankly. _

"_WHAT!" The trio exclaimed. _

"_Why!" Reno exclaimed. "Astraea will be protected under the protection of your crystal. Why would you not let her stay?" _

"_Reno," Gentiana called out to him. "The Dark Messenger is made aware of the Princess's whereabouts and it will not be wise. He will attack the Crown City yet again. We need to make sure that he will be far away from the King of Light for he does not know about the King of Light being born yet." _

"_The High Messenger is right," Bahamut spoke. "It will be unwise to let the Princess stay in Insomnia. If the Fire Maiden and King of Light meet, their presence would be strengthened. This will alert Diabolos and he might target them and try to kill them both. He will send the Adagium once again together with the Infernian. I do not know if I can stop them again," Bahamut added. "I used all my strength last year to cast the Adagium away and I will not be able to fully go out from this prison. So, if thy want to safeguard them both. One must sacrifice and live outside the crown city." _

"_You want Astraea to do that?" Somnus asked, stepping forwards and cradling Astraea closed to his body. "I can't do that! I won't let Astraea leave again!" _

"_Sorry, Founder King, but we don't have a choice. Diabolos will first look for the princess inside the crown city. We need to distract him so the King of Light will not be known." Gentiana said. "I know you are afraid to let go of her, but if you love her and want to protect her you have to send her away, where she could be safe." _

"_So where is that exactly?" Reno asked. _

"_Far away from the Crown city, far away from the King of Light for their meeting should not yet happen until the right time when destiny will call them. Both need to live separately from one another. That is the only thing we can do for us to safeguard them both." Bahamut answered. _

"_So... you want us to hide Astraea," Reno paused and gazed at his master. "Under the shadow from Diabolos, is that what you're implying, Bahamut?" _

"_Yes," _

"_And how do we do that? Would Diabolos be alerted by Astraea's presence once we leave here?" Somnus asked. _

_Bahamut's eyes landed on the princess. "I will seal her power away for the time being so that she can live a normal life." _

"_So where will we live then?" Reno asked. "And who will take care of her? Even if I'm her guardian, I could not take care of her, and besides, I have zero experience of how to take care of a child."_

"_You're right Reno, The Princess will not have a future if you raise her." Carbuncle cheerfully said as she jumped towards the redhead's shoulder. "You will be a terrible father for her." _

"_Ouch, that hurts Cally." Reno chuckled as he patted her on the head. "But all jokes aside. I could not take care of her alone. I need someone to help me." he gazed at Somnus with a serious expression and then towards Bahamut. "Can the other messenger help me on this?" _

"_That will just put both of you in more danger Reno," Gentiana said. "It's better if the Fire Maiden will be raised into a normal family." _

"_So how do we do that? Do you want me to just drop Astraea into someone's doorstep?" _

_Before anyone could answer his question a bright red light suddenly shone from the front pocket of his suit. He slowly took it out to reveal the heart winged necklace. _

"_That is…" Carbuncle trailed off as she ran down his arm to have a closer look at the shining necklace. "The princess's necklace." _

"_So, you took it with you all along," Somnus said. _

_The Guardian nodded. "Yes, it's the few remaining items that did not disappear with her existence back then." he saw how Somnus frowned for a bit while looking at the necklace then towards his sister. He wanted to say something but the light from the necklace suddenly became brighter and it slowly floated up and went towards Gentiana's hands. _

"_The Pyreburner's crystal," she whispered while looking sadly at it. "And what is left of his burning wisdom." _

"_Yes, it is," Reno gazed at her to see the emotion in her eyes. It was full of sadness and longing. "Gentiana, are you okay?" he asked. _

_The High Messenger turned to him and smiled softly before looking back at the necklace. "Ifrit's body might have fallen into darkness but his soul did not. A part of the Infernian still resides in the shard of his crystal," the necklace started to float again then it burst into flame and destroyed its casing revealing a ruby heart-shaped crystal inside of it. "It will help you to look for the right people that will raise the Fire Maiden. With the Infernian blessing, you can seek them." _

"_That's great!" Reno chimed as he walked towards the floating crystal. "So that means my master can still be saved?" _

"_Yes, Like Lord Ardyn… The Pyreburner is waiting for the Fire Maiden to free him from the dark. We need to do everything we can for that to happen." _

_The Guardian nodded. "Okay then… let us do this then," he reached for the floating crystal but the Gentiana stopped him. _

"_The Glacian's wish to help too, dear Guardian." _

_Reno's hand stopped in midair and glanced at her before he could react. She opened her palm and ice started to appear in her open palm which slowly formed into a heart-shaped blue crystal. _

"_Gentiana that is…" _

"_Yes… the Glacian's crystal shard. The Goddess wanted you to use it to ensure the Fire Maiden safety and the future of Eos." _

"_Thank you… we will use it wisely." _

_Gentiana just nodded before letting the crystal float towards Ifrit's crystal shard. When the two meet and it shined brightly causing all of them to close their eyes and when they opened it again, they saw two crystals turned into one gemstone. The Infernian on one side and the Glancian at the other. It slowly floated towards Reno's open palm. _

"_Use that to further shield the Fire Maiden from the darkness and seek the people that the Infernian had chosen." _

_The redhead closed in his palm and bowed. "I will grant Ifrit's and Shiva's wish." _

_Gentiana smiled softly before turning to Bahamut, The Draconia nodded knowing that he is up next. "Founder King, come and present the Fire Maiden so I can seal her power." _

"_Is that necessary Bahamut?" Somnus asked, stepping forward. _

_Bahamut nodded. "Yes." _

_Somnus stopped beside Reno and held Astraea up towards the Draconian and with the waved of his hand the princess glowed and after the light died down. The princess's hair turned black and her eyes to brown. The guardian saw this and frowned. "Do you have to seal his crimson eyes away too, Bahamut?" _

"_We don't have a choice, Reno; we are doing this to protect the Princess." _

_With a sigh, Reno accepted it and asked Somnus if he could hold Astraea. With a nod, Somnus transferred his sister into the arms of her guardian before turning towards the Astral. _

"_So, what about me? What will I do now?" _

"_Thy must continue to guide the current King. Thy must remain inside the Ring of Lucii and protect thy bloodline. Until the Fire Maiden and One True King will be called to fulfill their calling." _

_Somnus bowed. "Then it shall be, Draconian." he then turned towards Gentiana to thank her for help. The High Messenger nodded and bowed at him. _

"_Don't fret Founder King, your sister will be safe. until then wait with hope in your heart." _

"_I will," Somnus affirmed, before turning towards his sister and guardian. _

"_So must now return to Angelgard and there let the crystal choose. Until then we will all meet up once again. May the Light never let thy heart." Bahamut said with a wave on his hand. The two Guardians and Somnus were back at the island inside the stone prison. _

_**...**_

"Wait! So, you're saying that we were chosen by the Astrals the night and us finding Astraea was fate?" Aerith asked in disbelief.

"More like you were summoned and given a new calling," Reno smiled at her.

"But why...why us in all people?"

"Well, I don't know why but I know that Astrals did not make a mistake in choosing both of you. You and Zack were meant to raise Astraea. If you don't believe it just watch my memory."

Aerith just nodded and continued to watch his memory.

_**...**_

_They saw how Reno and Somnus talked about their plan. Reno will make sure not to leave Astraea's side and protect her at all times. While he will return to Insomnia and guide King Regis. Before they parted ways Somnus held Astraea one last time before disappearing while Carbuncle remained. _

_**...**_

"Why did you leave early, Somnus?" Regis asked.

"For my spirit can't go outside the Ring of Lucii for long. So even if I don't want to leave, my circumstances force me to return," Regis accepted his explanation and resumed watching.

_**...**_

"_Cally, can you wait here and look over Astraea for a while?" he asked while putting the princess back inside the basket. _

"_Don't worry, I protect her!" Carbuncle nodded. _

_He took one last glance at the basket before stepping outside. There he saw the bodies of hunters yet again and with a sigh, he started gathering wood from the destroyed boat to form a pyre. After gathering enough wood, he gently carried the bodies of the hunter and lay them beside each other. He lowered his head and prayed for a while before setting the pyre on fire. It just took five minutes for the bodies of the hunters to fully burn because he used his own flames on them. As the last speck of ember disappeared, he sighed and looked up. _

"_I prayed that you two will have peace… Zidane… Garnet…" he whispered. _

…

The memory suddenly paused when Reno exclaimed. "Oh… almost forget! This is for you Dave," he handed Dave, two dog tags that belonged to Zidane and Garnet. "Sorry that it took so long for me to give it to you."

"Thank you for keeping them and giving them a proper send-off, Reno."

"Well it's the least I can do, even if you just got to know them a short time, they are the first people that Astraea met and became friends so I decided to give them a funeral they deserved."

"Now I understand why you picked them to be Astraea's parents even if that is a lie. So that their death will not be forgotten right?"

Reno nodded at Clarus. "Yup, that was I'm aiming for. So please help maintain that, even if that is a lie. We are doing this for Astraea's sake."

The others nodded and with that, he continued his memory.

…

_He gazed at the night sky for a minute before pulling out the gemstone from his pocket. He prayed to it before it shot up towards the sky and disappeared out of sight. With a sigh returned to the stone prison only to see that Carbuncle is now sleeping beside the princess inside the basket. He slowly nudged the Guardian awake. They have a short conversation about the prince and how he is doing. 30 minutes past Carbuncle sensed that King Regis needed her so she reluctantly bid goodbye to him and went back to Crown city leaving Reno alone with the sleeping princess. After 30 minutes passed just watching the princess, he got bored and went outside only to find that the gemstone was now returning but instead of returning to his hand it went straight towards the Galdin Quay shoreline. With his strength finally returned he was able to teleport towards the cliffs of Galdin Quay with Astraea still in the basket. There he saw Zack picking up the gemstone before handling it toward Aerith. He narrowed his eyes towards the hunters who are now walking towards the restaurant. _

"_I hope right about this Ifrit, Shiva," he whispered to himself before teleporting beside the gas pump. He slowly lowered the basket down. _

"_Okay I must leave you, for now, Astraea," he slowly held the sleeping princess and hugged her one last time. "Don't worry I will be at your side and will keep watching you," he whispered and kissed her on the forehead. With a sigh, he lowered her down back to the basket. Astraea woke up and started to cry which alerted Zack and Aerith. Reno teleported back at the cliff, he saw how Aerith cradle Astraea lovingly and saw the joy in their eyes as they went towards the Restaurant with Astraea in their arms. _

"_Have the life you deserve...Fire Maiden…" Reno whispered then the memory faded to black. _

_**...**_

"You know Aerith. I was surprised that you name her Astraea. In all the names you can think of you pick that."

"Well my first pick was Stella but I decided to change it and name her Astraea."

"Maybe that is the sign that Ifrit and Shiva made the right decision and picked you two," Reno said. "And you did not disappoint, you raised Astraea as your own and gave her a life she deserved after all she had been through."

"Of course, she is our daughter, Reno. We will give anything for her to be happy."

"And you did that I saw how happy she was. You give her the life she deserves."

_**...**_

_The sphere showed how Aerith and Zack went back to Galahd and how they took care of Astraea, it only showed the importance once like her first words, first walk, the first day of school, and so on. It showed how Zack taught the princess how to hold a sword and defend herself starting at the age of six while Aerith taught her housework and gardening. Because of the guidance of her parents. She excelled in her classes and battle training. Sometimes Reno would be brave and go near her only just to run away if the princess looked his way. All those years Reno just had two form his bird and Chocobo chick form. _

_**...**_

"Excuse me Reno, but I have a question?"

"What is it, Your Majesty?" he turned towards the King and paused his memory.

"Why did you only choose those forms? Why not go to her in your human form and talk to her."

"It is because of the seal, King Regis."

"The seal? you mean Bahamut seal on Astraea?" Regis asked.

"No, Your Majesty," he shook his head. "Without knowing it you made the greatest decision of all time which is ordering Zack and his family to return to Galahd which is a very impeccable timing if you ask me," Regis gave him a questioning look. He took a deep breath before explaining it to them about the seal around the island of Galahd. That after Zack his family arrived on the island. He was able to cast an invisible barrier around the island with the help of the Crystal shards of the Astrals. No magic can be used inside the barrier and it helped to hide Astraea's presence more from Diabolos and the outside world. He continued to explain that it affected his ability that even he can't use his power as a Messenger inside the island. So, he decided to choose a lesser form which is Chocobo chick and bird form. That he did not go talk to her for he was afraid to trigger Astraea's memory back. He was afraid that Astraea would be in danger once again. So, he decided to just watch from the shadows everything was going fine until her 8th birthday.

_**...**_

_Reno chuckled as he saw how happy Astraea was at her birthday party. But after the party, he saw her walking towards the northern forest so he followed her in his Chocobo chick form. After following her for some time he lost track of her and came across a pack of Sabertusk. He took a stance and was ready to fight back when one of the tusks leaped towards him, he was able to deflect its attack and kick the beast in the stomach then another attacked him from behind and ram its head into his small body which sent him tumbling down. He chirped in pain as he shakingly stood up. _

"_You're so lucky that I can't turn into my phoenix form or you all are toss!" he hissed._

_Another Sabertusk leaped from behind and lunged at him when out of nowhere Astraea appeared and hit the beast with a dead tree branch and quickly picked him up. _

"_You're okay little one, I'm here," she cooed and brushed his head. _

_Astraea is about to run but it was too late a dozen Sabertusk has surrounded them. They leaped towards her with no place to run and she closed her eyes. Reno's eyes widened when he saw Astraea raven hair burst into flames and a huge firewall burst out from her body scorching every beast around them and the forest and when she opened her eyes, he gasped seeing it turned crimson. The Fire Maiden has been awoken. Reno smiled seeing this but it faded when he noticed that Astraea could not control her flames. The whole forest started to go up in flames. He jumped down and was about to change into his human form but he stopped when he heard Zack and Aerith shouting in the distance. _

"_Sorry, Princess I must go now…" he mumbled and ran away. He hid behind a tree and saw how Zack was able to calm her down. His memory faded when Astraea lost consciousness. _

_**...**_

"Was Astraea able to destroy the seal?" Aerith asked.

"Bahamut's seal yes but the seal around the island still remained; she was still safe from Diabolos. I must admit I was ecstatic to see Astraea's power being awoken. But I did not like what happened next and how the people reacted to what happened."

"Being cast-out and daemonized by the people of the island..." Somnus whispered.

"Yes," Reno frowned. "Starting that night Astraea and her family became an outcast and because of my form, I could not truly protect her. I let her be bullied by those kids and those pesky cat-eye freaks. He hissed and clenched his fists. "They were lucky that I could not reveal myself or use my power on them. If I did not have to hide my presence from Diabolos they all would have been tossed!"

"If you're hiding the truth about Astraea, why did you tell Zack and Aerith about her past? Clarus asked.

"Well… after a week from the incident I heard Aerith and Zack were planning to go back to Crown city. So, I decided to reveal the truth to them so that you two will not go. I must admit you and Zack were quick on your feet. Your title as the number one and number two hunters of Lucis was right," he turned to Aerith and smiled.

Aerith just blushed and lowered her head down. "Oh… that… you can't blame us for acting like that, Reno. We are stressed out and you just appeared out of nowhere for goodness sake, so as hunters we reacted harshly."

The guardian laughed. "I know it's my fault and what happened to me. I fully deserve it but I'm glad that you did not turn me into roast Chocobo," he smirked. The sphere started again and showed his memory.

_**... **_

_Reno was in his human form and was peering outside the window. He saw Aerith had returned from their daughter's room and sat down at the dining table where Zack was waiting for her. _

"_She is now asleep." _

"_Good…" Zack sighed. "We need to seek someone's help…. We need to know what is happening to our daughter, Aerith. Let's go to Crown City." _

"_Okay then… I will contact my brother." Aerith stood up and went to grab a phone. _

_With a flash of red-light Reno teleported inside "I would not do that if I were you." he said as he stopped her. "I'm R-" The guardian could not finish because Aerith rod collided with his face and smacked him on the stomach, he tumbled back while holding his bleeding nose. "Stop! I am not the enemy!" he shouted but Aerith did not listen and it was about to hit him again. He was able to dodge the incoming attack and stepped aside only to be met by a punch from Zack. It hit him in the face which sent him down on his knees, his goggles fell from his forehead to fall to the floor. Zack unsheathed his sword and is about to bring it down on him. "WAIT!" he exclaimed, holding his arms up. "I am here for Astraea. I can tell you about her and what is happening to her!" Zack's blade stopped mere inches for his face. He sighed deeply as the hunter withdrew his sword and backed away. _

"_My daughter? What about her?" Zack asked. _

"_First, let me introduce myself…" he stood up and dusted his jacket and grabbed his goggles, and pushed up his forehead. "I'm Reno and I'm one of the Divine Messenger of the Astrals and I'm your daughter's guardian… Astraea Izunia, the Fire Maiden." _

_Both hunters looked shocked hearing his remark. They both looked at each other before turning back to Reno. "I mean you no harm, so can you please lower your weapons? You don't want Astraea to wake up, don't you?" he smiled as he took a seat in the armchair in the living room. "Come... we have so much to talk about," Both hunters were reluctant at first but went and sat on the sofa. "Well then let us begin." he clapped his hand and rubbed together. "Let us begin our story with the rise of the Kingdom of Solheim." _

_He explained to them about the Izunia and kingdom of Solheim that her daughter is the descendant of that line of the Champion of Ifrit and warrior of Light. He told them about Diabolos and his daughter's role in defeating the dark Astral. After his short explanation, he asked them to keep it a secret and helped him hide and protect Astraea from Diabolos. That they need to stay in Galahd for the Princess's safety. _

_Zack and Aerith believed him and agreed to keep it a secret and to continue to stay in Galahd. After he finished his story, Reno stood up and bowed. "Thank you for your cooperation...but there is more than one thing… Please don't tell Astraea about the truth...about who she is. "Don't tell her about me but let me help you take care of her. I can transform into a Choco-" _

"_Mother… Father…" Astraea called out to them from her bedroom. _

_When Reno heard the princess's voice, he suddenly changed into his Chocobo chick form. Zack and Aerith were shocked to see this before they could react; they heard Astraea gasping behind them as the child went towards Reno and picked him up. _

"_Oh… it's you!" she exclaimed. "Mother … Father is the Chocobo I was talking about? He did survive the fire! Can I keep him?" she turned to them with pleading eyes. _

_Aerith and Zack exchange glances. Reno saw this he chirped to signal them to accept her request. Zack understood what he meant and said yes to her daughter. _

_The child jumped in joy and she squeezed Reno softly. "So, what name should I give you…" she pondered, looking at his vibrant feathers. Both master and guardian stared at each other in silence until Astraea whispered a name. "Reno…" The guardian's eyes widened hearing his name being called so he replied with a cheerful chirp. "So, Reno it is…" she giggled and hugged him. _

'_Oh, how I miss you, Princess,' Reno thought as he nuzzled his body onto her body and deepened the hug. With that, his memory faded to black. _

_**...**_

"So, you lie to them Reno?" Clarus asked, crossing his arms. "You told them the same story you told in the council room. You did not tell them about Lord Ardyn and Somnus."

"Yeah of course I can't tell them about Astraea's true past. I'm afraid if I told them the truth something bad might happen so I lied to keep them safe and protect from Diabolos."

"And you made the right Decision, Reno," Aerith said with a smile. "Even if you lied to us back then I am very grateful that you trust us with her life and safety. I'm just wondering how the accident did not reach the Citadel or the Empire."

"Because the Empire was busy attacking Tenebrae." Carbuncle stated.

"What! The accident was on the same day when the Empire tried to kill me and my son? The same day when the Tenebrae fell into the hand of the Empire?" Regis asked in disbelief.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Cally answered.

"Woah, that was impeccable timing. What is the oddity of that happening?" Dave marveled.

"Yeah… it was." Reno said.

"How about the letters or news coming out of the island about the incident, surely news of what happened reached the capital after the attack on Tenebrae ?"

"Yeah about that... I intercepted them all and changed all the information so nobody from outside can know about the accident or about Astraea ." Reno explained. "I kept doing that for the next 8 years and I was successful; no information had reached the outside world. I was too busy protecting her from the outside threat that I was not able to fully protect her from the people of the island. I let her suffer...But I can't help it because my hands were tied."

_**...**_

_The sphere glowed again and showed his memory. The day of the graduation Reno appeared before the couple and gave them the few items to give to Astraea as a gift. The dagger and the necklace that he was able to rebuild. When Astraea opened thier gift, he was delighted seeing her smile and he was thankful that she did not remember anything from her past after seeing the necklace and the dagger. Even if he can't talk to her personally he was happy just to be by her side._

_The memory skipped and went straight to the day before the last incident. _

_Astraea went towards the giant tree and to read a book with Reno by her side. While she was reading, Reno fell asleep and was awoken by her singing voice. ("Here" (Ancient Magus' Bride OP) English Cover by Lizz Robinett ft. L-Train). _

_He saw how she cried in silence after finishing her song. 'You still felt unloved and unwanted huh...Princess,' Reno thought as he remembered the things that happened in the past 8 years of her suffering and torment from the people of the island. He sighed and jumped to her lap. 'Stop crying Astraea, I'm here.'_

"_Oh, sorry for awakening you up, Reno." she smiled sadly at him. "I'm glad you are here… I know I am not alone. Mother and Father are with me and love me...but still, why do I feel this Reno… Like I'm missing something…" she continued to cry._

'_Don't worry Astraea, I promise you I will return you back to your family. You will never feel alone again, Princess,' he nuzzled his body on her as she hugged him. _

_**...**_

Reno sighed as he stared at his memory. "Even with all, she went through she stayed positive and not let her past stop her. Astraea's life seems to be getting back to normal. She was happy again so I regrettably let my guard down and because of that those boys are able to attack her. Because of the seal I was weak back then and could not protect her and because of that, she suffered. Seeing what they did to her I cannot take it anymore and decided to act and because I was not able to use my power for eight years I lost control over it when I transformed and my anger towards those boys and the people of Galahd did not help either." Reno hissed and narrowed his eyes to the sphere which showed Astraea summoning the fire pillar and him.

The other can feel his anger as the room got hotter as his memory of the night continued. They saw how Reno's wings burned down the entire forest and how he unleashed his anger, and because of his anger, the sphere burst into flames and set the coffee table on fire.

"RENO!" Cally shouted. "Calm yourself!"

Reno snapped out his anger bolted upright. He quickly put his flames out and turned towards the others to find them standing around and looking at him in shock expression.

"Sorry… I'm sorry… I couldn't help it," he stammered, lowering his gaze down and saw that the sphere is destroyed and broken in half. "Shit!" he cursed then turned towards King Regis. It surprised him that the King did not seem to be angry. In fact, Regis was looking at him sympathetically. The same goes for Somnus and the others. "I apologize looks like my anger took control again. I'm sorry…"

"Don't be Reno… If I were in your place, I do the same," Somnus patted his shoulder. "You were just protecting Astraea, don't apologize for that… but please next time control your anger."

The Guardian nodded. "I will Somnus, I promise… but still, I could not believe those boys survived my flames, those lucky bastards! He hissed, his anger building up again.

"Reno, you're doing it again," Somnus warned.

"Sorry!" he stood straight and let his anger fade. "So, what now? We can't finish our story," he crossed his arms.

"We don't need to after all everybody knows what happened after that day." Cally reminded. "We already saw it in the eyes of the princess."

"Cally is right… we don't have to see what happened to Galahd… to Zack…" Reno whispered.

"But I only have one question Reno, where were you when Astraea lost control?" Cor asked.

Reno frowned and crossed his arms before answering. "You saw Astraea's memory and how I ended up in the water right?" they all nodded. "So, after Astraea left, I was

ready to change into my phoenix form to help Astraea but one of Diabolos daemon

dragged me underwater."

"Another messenger?" Somnus asked.

"No… his general... Ultros, the stupid purple Octopus…we fought underwater for

several minutes. I was able to escape him and swim back towards the island only to

find it destroyed and Astraea is nowhere to be found. I started to panic that I almost

lost control again, but luckily Cally," he turned to her and smiled, "arrived and told me

what happened. She helped me go to Crown city, I did not show myself right away

for I had to recover. So, I stayed in the shadow for a while. Until Somnus summoned

me and ordered me to tell Regis and truth."

"How about the black flames? Did Astraea have that ability back then?" Clarus inquired.

"No, she does not. That ability is new to her and it does not belong to Ifrit's either."

"So where does it come from then?" Regis asked.

"I don't know, Your Majesty. I'm still trying to figure it out."

"Ok then Reno, just let me know if I can help you in anything."

"I will, Your Majesty…" Reno bowed. "So that is the end of our story, everyone...So Clarus," he turned towards the shield, "does it answer your question?"

Clarus raised an eyebrow at him. "What question?"

"The question of why we don't just tell Astraea the truth. Now that you saw everything… her past… all her hardship… and her death and rebirth. Do you think it is a good decision to tell her all of that?"

Clarus shifted to his feet. "I must admit I did not expect her past to be that tragic, after all, you never did tell us the whole story back then. The only thing you told us is that she is Founder King's sister and a Warrior of Light that she has a duty to uphold. You never did tell the bad things that had happened to her and to the entire Caelum bloodline."

"I can't help… I am not a very good storyteller after all. But still, my question still stands… Do we need to tell Astraea the truth now or wait until the right time?"

The room felt silent and nobody wanted to answer his question. All of their eyes were downcast at the destroyed memory sphere reminiscing all that they have seen.

"If you ask me… I don't want her to remember…." Somnus whispered. "I wanted her to continue on living believing the lies we created… I will not let her suffer again…"

"But we don't have a choice, Master…sooner or later her memory will come back, after all, we need her to remember who she truly is so that she can fulfill her calling. So that she can save Lord Ardyn and the Infernian." Cally reminded. "We just need to be by her side if that happens."

"Cally is right Somnus, even if it's painful we still need her to remember. We just need to prepare for it… after all, we don't know how she will react…still, I am looking forward to it. The right time when the Fire Maiden will return to her former glory, as the Champion of Ifrit and the bearer Of the Eternal Flames." he smiled brightly.

"You are right, Reno… then let us wait until the day will come…" Somnus said, while gazing at everyone, they nodded at him before sitting down again.

_**...**_

A long silence fell upon the whole group. Somnus was looking at the others to see their final reaction. Dave was comforting his sister, Aerith started to cry because of Zack's death being brought up. Cor has a straight face but he can still see the confusion in his eyes like Marshal is trying to make sense of it all. Clarus was beside his King and helping the monarch to his seat. Like Cor, Clarus is calm and collected but his tense shoulder is giving it away as he tries not to be affected by all of what happened. Lastly, his gaze landed at King Regis. Because of their connection by blood, he can sense Regis's emotion. The King was confused, mournful, and fearful for all that had happened to their family but just like his shield, Regis was trying his best not to show it.

The Founder King sighed seeing their reaction. He already knew and expected this to happen. But still, he was impressed that the people in front of him are able to keep it all together. He continued to stare and study them in silence until the sound of the clock broke the silence. They all turned towards the clock to see it already 3 in the morning.

Reno whistled. "Woah it took just this long to finish."

"Well we did relive our entire past," Cally muttered, jumping to his shoulder. "I must say our past was really tragic," Carbuncle's ears dropped. "How did we ever survive all of that…especially Princess Astraea… She was revived only to sleep for two thousand years and immediately after waking up she lost her memory and her life was threatened yet again which caused her to be reborn into a baby. Now after years of being in the dark, Diabolos had found her yet again and tried to kill her but he failed." Cally smiled softly. "But after all of that Princess Astraea was able to escape death several times. Did High Goddess Etro have something to do with it?"

Reno glanced at her before shrugging. "I didn't know the last time I saw her was a thousand years ago. But maybe you're right, maybe Goddess of Death is helping us to win this fight."

"But we can't only rely on the Goddess to help." Somnus walked and stood beside Reno. "We already lost once to Diabolos and he will continue to attack us until he gets what he wants. So, I need to continue to fight and protect the future of Eos. We need to protect the new Warriors of Light. That is now our new calling... our duty to serve the light." he turned towards the others. "We need to protect Astraea and Noctis together. Can I rely on all of you?"

Aerith and Dave were the first to respond, they stood straight and bowed. "The Hunter Association is at your disposal, Founder King,"

Somnus nodded at them, then he turned towards Cor and Clarus. Both men stood straight and put their hands on their chest before bowing. "We will protect them both with our lives."

When the Founder King's eyes met with the King. Regis slowly stood up and whispered. "First of all, Somnus, thank you for deciding to tell us the truth even how painful it is and I'm sorry for all you've been through, it must be very painful for you three to keep it all to yourself… but now we are here you are not alone in this fight anymore, Somnus… Reno… Cally," he paused. "I promise to help you and to finish what you have started."

Somnus stared at Regis for a few minutes in silence before smiling sadly at him, "You're truly like him… our brother… no wonder Astraea is closed to you Regis, you remind her of our brother. If you want you can replace us in her life."

"I could not take your brother's or your place Somnus, she is still your sister... but I can provide her the life she deserves."

"Please do that, Regis. Pease gave her a life of peace and safety." Somnus smiled softly. "For in the future, both Astraea and Noctis will fight for the future of Eos."he paused and gazed around, "For them to that all we need to protect them, especially now that Diabolos is on the move again. So please help me protect them… do everything you can to help them, but don't be like me… don't follow my actions, it will only lead you to failure. That reason why I decided to reveal to all you the truth. So you will not make the same mistake we made."

"I understand" Regis stood straight.

"Right, as long as we work together, Diabolos would have a hard time fighting us, let us look forward to the future, let us look forward to the light," Somnus declared. All of them nodded.

"Soo…." Reno sighed. "I can go now? I must go back to Astraea, not only that… all of you must be tired?"

"Reno is right… If you still have a question, I can answer it, but for now take a rest, everyone…"

"Okay then… let us continue this tomorrow afternoon," Regis said, "All of you can go now,"

Dave and Aerith nodded and two monarchs. "We will take our leave then, Good night your Majesties," they said in unison before leaving.

Cor bowed towards Somnus. "If you need my help, Founder King, just order Reno to fetch me."

"I almost forgot, Cor, I haven't thanked you for saving my sister and bridging her here."

"You need not thank me, Somnus, it's my duty as leader of the Crownguards." he paused briefly. "Is there something I can do for you?"

Somnus shook his head. "No, Marshal, you can go rest now."

"I take my leave then… Have a pleasant evening, Your Majesties."

Both monarchs nodded with that The Marshal left the room.

"I will take care of this mess. Take your rest, Your Majesty…" Clarus said, looking down at the burnt coffee table.

"No Clarus… you can do it tomorrow. Go to your room and sleep." Regis ordered.

Clarus reluctant at first but nodded before bowing and bidding goodbye towards the two monarchs.

"King Regis?"

"Yes, Cally?"

"Are you okay? Do you want me to stay with you?"

"No, I'm fine Cally, go to Noctis, see if he is doing fine."

"As wish… Your Majesty," Cally bowed before disappearing in a flash of light.

"I will take my leave then, Regis. If you need me don't hesitate to reach out to me, you can use the Ring of Lucci to communicate with me."

"Right… thank you again for your trust, Somnus,"

"No, thank you… Regis…" Somnus bowed before his spirit faded.

After the Founder King left Reno and Regis were the only ones left in the room.

"So... Your Majesty, do you have anything you want me to do?"

Regis shook his head. "It's okay, Reno… you can go now…"

"Are you sure?" Regis nodded. "Okay then… Good Night, Your Majesty." Reno smiled before teleporting.

_**... **_

With the flash of red-light, Reno appeared in Astraea's room only to see Aerith there and sitting down at her bedside. "Oh Aerith, why are you doing here and where is Dave?"

"Dave is now at my room resting. I just want to see her before I go to sleep," she whispered. "Are you sure she will be fine, Reno?" she turned to him.

"She will be fine, Aerith. Is not the first time that Astraea has escaped death. You saw her past right… Astraea is one tough cookie; she is not the Fire Maiden for nothing." he smiled, while crossing his arms and leaning on the bedpost. "Don't worry she will wake up soon."

The mother lowered her head. "I don't know if I could help her. Because compared to her… I'm nothing. I could not even save her back at Galahd or back the Council Room, I'm useless, Reno. Maybe I should leave her to you… to King Regis, for he is her actual family. He can protect Astraea more than me."

"Oh, c'mon don't say that Aerith." he walked and put his hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Remember, the crystals choose you, and besides, you did a terrific job in raising her, and not only that, it will devastate Astraea if you leave her. So please stay by her side, she needs her mother."

Aerith nodded and smiled at him. "Your right, Reno, thank you…"

"Don't sweat it, after all, we are family." he smiled. "You should take a rest; I will look after her."

Aerith glanced at her daughter before nodding. "Okay then, I take my leave then. Just call me if she wakes up. Have a pleasant night, Reno"

"You too," Reno said while guiding and opening the door for her. "Good nyt, Aerith."

Aerith nodded before walking off. With a tired sigh, the guardian closed the door slowly and walked back towards the bedroom only to see the Founder King. He was standing and looking down at the princess.

"So, you finally have the guts to see her, Sommy, and it only took you 2,015 years to do it," he said while walking at the other side of the bed.

Somnus just rolled his eyes and slowly sat down at the bed and held her sister's right hand and brushed the top of it. "Do you think she will forgive me, Reno, after all, I have done."

"Don't worry about it, I know Astraea will forgive you because there's nothing to forgive. But still…" he smiled before taking a seat. "She might be mad at you."

"Mad? Why would you say that?" he asked, lowering Astraea's hand down.

"Well... knowing Astraea, she will be mad at you for attempting to take your own life and how you kept blaming and torturing for the last 2,000 years. So, prepare yourself Somnus, for if Astraea's memory returns you will be in big trouble."

The former warrior chuckled softly. "Do you think it is weird that I'm looking forward to seeing her anger?"

"No," Reno snorted. "We are on the same boat; I know Astraea will be furious at me, but still l will look forward to it. The day when our Fire Maiden will finally be herself again. I hope that it will come soon."

The Mystic sighed. "I hope so too, but for now… let her live as a normal teenager for a while and Reno, I have a favor to ask of you."

"What is it?"

"Please protect her in my stead, for I can only do so much in this form."

Reno saw the sincerity in the Founder King's eyes and voice with a soft smile, he said. "You can count on me, Somnus. I just need you to promise something too."

"And what is that?"

"Visit her now and then. You can do that if she is asleep like this. It would be a world to Astraea. She needs her big brother on her side even if she does not yet."

"Ok, I promise," he smiled before returning his gaze to his sister. He frowned when he saw the scar of her chest. "Reno… why did the wound leave a scar?"

"I don't know why. I even tried using my tears on it, but still, it won't disappear. It is quite an eyesore, right? It's the same spot when your swor-" Reno stop when he saw how Somnus's expression change.

The Founder King frowned and clenched both of his fists. "The spot when my sword pierces her," he hissed. "Looks like Diabolos is playing with us, and he is reminding us what happened in the past. He does not want us to forget about how he won that night."

"I don't like the sound of that," Reno whispered and gazed at Astraea ant at the scar.

"Diabolos is good in his mind games. He will try to weaken our resolve again, but it won't work this time." Somnus affirmed

"Right… Diabolos minds games won't work on us anymore. As long as we have Courage, Hope, and Love he will never defeat us."

Somnus nodded before standing up and looking down at his sister one last time. "I will go now if you need me, you know where to find me."

"Right! See Ya, Founder King!" Reno smiled and gave a two-finger salute. Somnus sighed and shook his head before his spirit faded.

Reno lets out a signed sigh after the Founder King left. "It's been a long day… time for bed!" he murmured before transforming in his Chocobo chick form and nuzzling himself beside the sleeping princess. "Good night Princess…" he whispered before closing her eyes shut.

_**...**_

Back at the King's chamber, the monarch was lying down at his bed and was staring blankly at the ceiling. He was reminiscing about all that had happened that day, all the memories he saw and felt. After knowing about the tragic past and the hardship that his family had been through. He can't help but be afraid for the future of his son. After knowing who the real enemy is and how powerful and cunning Diabolos was, it terrified him to think his son, The King of Light, is his next target. Will Noctis suffer the same pain that the siblings went through. Fear and uncertainty surge through his body as his mind wanders what could happen in the distant future when fate calls upon his son and Astraea. Can he protect them until that day? He sighed to let his mind and body be at ease. The future will be uncertain, but one thing's for sure, he will do everything in his power to protect his son and Astraea. He will defend his family. All he needs to do is to be there for them so he can guide and protect them. Regis now knows what he needs to do, but for now, he needs rest so he can face the brand-new day with Courage, Hope, and Love.

* * *

THANK YOU! I hope you enjoy this and have a wonderful day and keep safe!✩


	32. Chapter 30

**A Warm Welcome  
**_"Friends eat ice-cream together and talk and laugh about the stupidest things." -Axel (Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days)_

* * *

After resting for just a few hours, Regis woke up and started his day with a meeting with the council members, where he retracted his order and ended the lockdown on the Citadel. Because of the recent attack, they did not have the choice, to tell the truth of what really happened inside the council room. With Somnus's blessing Regis told the truth about Diabolos existence and the true history of Eos, he even told about the warriors of light to the people who work inside the Citadel, Crownguards, and few notable members of the Glaives. But he did not reveal their family's dark secret. Just like Reno did he made them sworn to secrecy. After being brief, the glaives and guards were now back at their original post, and the life inside the Citadel returned to normal. When the meeting was over, Regis had a conversation with Somnus inside his chamber together with his shield.

"Are you sure that we did the right thing? Revealing the Dark Astral to them and about the true history of Eos?" Regis asked while sitting on his desk with Clarus by his side.

"The truth will be revealed eventually," Somnus said as he stood in front of the fireplace and gazed at the raging fire. "Telling them what happened to Solheim and the real history of Eos will help us in the long run," he turned towards the King and the Shield. "Now they know who the real enemy is and with this knowledge, they will help us protect the Warriors of Light for we need all the help we can get."

"Are you sure Diabolos won't attack again?"

"Yes, I'm sure, Bahamut had told me that they were able to lock him again in his realm and as long as we kept the shards of the Crystal of the Astrals here as added protection we are safe. But just let my sister keep the Ice and Fire crystal in her possession. It will help her control her ability for the time being."

Regis nodded. "Glad to hear that, so about Astraea's safety, do you want a glaive to be assigned to her as her guard?"

"No… she won't like that, she doesn't like being followed and protected all the time, and beside Reno is with her."

"Are you sure?" Clarus asked. "It won't hurt to give her added protection. After all, Reno is childish if you ask me. Not only that, but he is also impatient and mischievous and does not respect authority. Is he really a divine messenger? For his action does not reflect it at all."

Somnus chuckled. "Yes… I'm sure. I know Reno could be troublesome, and his actions might not be suited as a Messenger, but let me tell you something, Clarus. He might be childish and cocky, but rest assured he will do everything to protect his family. Not only that, but he is also like a brother to us. So please be patient with him, and don't worry, you will get used to his antics very soon."

"If you said so, but can I have your blessing?"

"My blessing… what for?" Somnus asked.

With a straight face, Clarus asked. "Can I hit him if he crosses the line?"

Somnus was taken aback but after a second he chuckled softly. "Sure, you can do that, Clarus. You might not be Gilgamesh's descendant, but you still act like him. Our memory did not show it. But he and Reno always argue, and sometimes it will go into a full-blown fight. But all of that is just for fun, and they never mean it. So if I were you don't let him get into your head, but still, you have my blessing if he crossed the line you can whack him, you can even throw him in the dungeon if you like." he joked.

Clarus smiled. "Got it."

"But are you sure you don't want Astraea to have a Glaive or Guard with her?" Regis asked.

Somnus nodded. "Yes. Besides, Reno is the only one who really knows her. He knows her every move, so let him protect her in his own way."

Before Regis could talk Reno suddenly appeared between.

"Speak of the devil," Somnus smirked. "What brings you here, Reno? Did something happen to her?"

"Yes."

"WHAT!" Somnus exclaimed. "Where is she?" Somnus's voice rose as his face show concern.

"Woah...Calm down Sommy, she is okay…" he chuckled. "In fact, she is more than Okay. She is awake now, and the same goes for the Prince. They just have a minor accident."

"Accident what happened? Are they okay?" Regis asked as he stood up.

"Yes, they are Your Majesty." he smiled. "They just collided in the hallway."

"Collided?" Clarus asked.

"Yup! When Astraea woke up the first thing she asked was how is Noctis but before I could answer her question she went sprinting towards his room. The Prince did the same, so they kinda collided in the hallway. But don't worry they are fine and as we speak they are now at the dining hall waiting for his Majesty."

"Good… let me greet them then." Regis states as he walked towards the door, but he stopped when he noticed that Somnus did not move. "You are not coming, Somnus?"

The Founder King just smiled. "It's okay I'm fine like this, I just watched her from the shadows. Just take care of her, Regis,"

Regis nodded. "I will Somnus, I promise."

The Founder King nodded, then turned towards Reno. The Guardian nodded and smiled at him before his spirit faded.

_You still don't have the courage, huh_ Reno thought as he watched Somnus's spirit faded.

"Reno," Clarus called him. "Let's go," he said while waiting for him to come towards the open door.

"Mhmm… Right… let us go."

He followed Clarus out the door, and the trio went towards the dining wall.

**…**

When they arrived at the dining hall, Clarus and Reno opened the double door for him. Regis thanked them and stepped inside, the first thing he saw was Astraea and Noctis sitting at the table with Ignis and Aerith were sitting beside them.

"Your Majesty!" Astraea greeted him enthusiastically and went running towards him and went for a hug.

The King stumbled for a bit, but after regaining his balance he chuckled and patted her on the head. "I'm glad to see you awake and doing fine, Astraea," She looked up to see him smiling at her. She suddenly felt a pain in her heart as he stared at the king's eyes. Regis noticed it and asked. "Is something wrong, dear one?"

"No… there is nothing wrong, Your Majesty." she shook her head and smiled, and the king gladly returned it with a gentle smile.

"Getting to close are we, Princess?" Reno chimed in.

She looked at him and then towards the king. That time she noticed that she was still hugging him. "I'm so sorry, Your Majesty!" she stepped back and bowed. "I apologize for my action."

"You have nothing to apologize, Astraea," Regis smiled and put a hand on her shoulder. The princess just smiled shyly and nodded at him. After nodding back, Regis turned towards his son who was now standing near them. "Are you alright, Noctis?"

The prince stood straight and bowed. "Yes, I'm fine, Your Majesty."

The King frowned hearing the formal greeting from his son with a sigh he walked towards him and brought him into a deep embrace. "I was so worried about you… I'm glad that you are okay now."

It surprised Noctis and was reluctant at first, but eventually returned the hug. "Sorry for making you worry, Dad, but I'm okay now."

The King stepped back and put a hand on his shoulder and gently squeezed it. "I'm glad to hear that," they both smiled at each other lovingly. After a moment of silence, the door that led to the kitchen opened and two maids walked in carrying trays of food. "You two must be famished. Come, let us eat." Regis said and gestured his hand towards the table.

They all went towards the dining table where Aerith and Ignis were waiting. Both stood and bowed toward the king. Regis held his hand and gestured to them to sit. Reno helped Astraea to her seat while Ignis and Clarus helped the prince and the king. After helping the royals to their seat, the trio went and sat down. After the maids finished putting the last plates of food on the table, they ate. During the entire meal, Reno kept serving and passing food on Astraea's plate, which she gladly accepted with a smile. After she took a spoonful of stew, she coughed and hurriedly drank a glass of water.

"Is there something wrong, Astraea? Is the food not to your liking?"

"No... Your Majesty. I liked them and they are very delicious. I just…" she trailed off as she sat upright. "I don't like spicy foods, but I do like the taste, but I can't handle the hotness of it."

Noctis snorted. "Wait… so you're saying you can't handle the hotness of a food?" he stopped eating and gazed at her. "Astraea your body can burst into flame, but you can't handle spicy food… that is absurd." he continued to chuckle.

She frowned. "What is wrong with not liking spicy food, Noct? and besides don't judge me in my eating habits for I don't judge yours, Your Highness," she sneered.

"My eating habits?" he raised an eyebrow to her.

"Yup. look at your plate, there is not a single vegetable on it. You should eat vegetables because they are nutritious."

"Very well said…" Ignis entered the conversion. "See even Astraea knows the importance of eating vegetables. So please, Your Highness, eat some." He took a plate of veggie stew and started putting spoonfuls on the Prince's plate.

"Wait don't do that!" Noctis protested.

"Your Highness, as your adviser, it's my duty to make sure you eat right. So please eat those vegetables because they are good for you."

The prince flustered by it but silently ate a bite which he regretted instantly as a taster bitterness from the bitter melon flooded his taste bud. He wanted to spit it but he noticed that everybody was looking at him so reluctantly swallowed it and drank water after. "Sorry Ignis but I really don't like it." he pushed the plate away and crossed his arms and leaned back on the table. "I rather starve than eating that thing."

Astraea let out a cute giggle, then took a bite of the bitter melon, which she easily ate. Then she turned to him and smiled as she took another bite.

Noctis frowned as he heard her giggle. "Go ahead, make fun of my eating habits."

"Don't look at me like you started it," she smirked. "It's not my fault you hate eating vegetables." she ate another bite, while Noctis just continued frowning at the plate in front of him while she kept on eating happily with the others. After a few seconds she noticed that he was still not eating, so lowered her utensils and smiled at him. "Tell you what, Noct. Let us make an agreement."

"An agreement?"

"Yup. I will try eating spicy foods if you will eat vegetables." The Prince frowned at the idea. "Oh, c'mon now Noctis… you're like a child. You're The King of Light, is the thought of eating vegetables scares you that much?"

"What NO!" he sputtered. "Okay, I accept the agreement."

"Okay then let us shake on it, Your Highness." she held a hand in which he gladly shook firmly. After smiling at each other, they resumed eating.

Ignis was surprised at what had just happened. For past years he has tried everything to make sure the prince eats his vegetables, but he always failed at it. It amazed him that Astraea was able to coax the Prince that easily. He could help but gaze at her. He silently took a small notebook from his pocket and wrote something after he was done. He took another glance at the princess. He kept looking at her in silence that he did not notice that Reno, who was sitting in front of him, was looking and studying him.

"Why not take a picture, it will last longer," Reno smirked.

Before Ignis could reply Astraea turned to them and asked. "Is something wrong, Reno?"

Ignis breathed a sigh of relief as she did not hear the guardian's remark. Reno saw this, and he took one last sly glance at him before answering his master. "Nothing... looks like you're already finished. Do you want some dessert?" he asked.

"Yes please"

He smiled and passed her a single slice of cake.

"Thanks," she replied and started eating the cake.

Reno smiled and ate his dessert too with the others.

**…**

After they finished their meal, Regis dismissed the maids around them so they could talk in private.

"So Astraea are sure you are okay? Do you need to visit a doctor?" Regis asked.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I'm okay. Thank you for your concert."

Regis nodded and smiled at her, then he turned towards his son. "What about you, are you okay, Noctis?"

"I'm fine, Dad. You don't have to worry."

"I'm just making sure. After all, both of you were asleep for three days straight. As King, your safety is my priority," he said while looking at them.

"We are fine, Dad. how about you and the council members?"

"I'm fine and the council members are all safe too."

"How about the council room, Your Majesty?" she asked.

"The council room is now being repaired as we speak so please don't worry about that," Regis smiled at her but she did not return it, and instead she lowered her head.

"I'm sorry…"

"Sweetheart, is something wrong? Why are you apologizing?" Aerith asked while lifting her daughter's chin up.

Tears were now forming in the corner of the Princess's eyes. "I'm so sorry that I brought harm to you, Your Majesty…" she sniffed and turned towards Noctis. "And I'm sorry Noctis, you almost lost your life in saving me. You should have not done that and now, because of me, all your lives are now in danger. Maybe I should go back to Galahd, for I don't belong here. I'm just going to end up causing you more trouble."

The three adults glanced at each other and turned all their attention towards the crying princess. Regis is about to speak, but the prince beat him to it.

"What are you saying, Astra!" Noctis stood and slammed his hand on the table. She flinched because of his sudden outburst. The prince saw it with a sigh, he softened his expression. "Sorry…" he whispered. When she started to calm down, he smiled at her gently. "Have you forgotten about our fate, our calling?" he paused and continued. "You are a warrior of light and you are Ifrit's champion so please stop doubting yourself. You are as important as me, Astra. So please don't be like that and don't blame yourself."

"But... because of me, Diabolos was able to attack the Citadel. He followed me here."

"Stop that, don't blame yourself for what happened."

"But Noct, you heard what he said to me. He was looking for me and now he knows I'm here and he won't stop until he gets what he wants."

"And what is that?"

"Me... dead." she lowered her head again.

Noctis was taken aback and could not come up with a reply. The others were speechless as well, except for Reno. The guardian's eyes glanced at the opened door to find the Somnus spirit standing there. The Founder King nodded at him and he nodded back, knowing what to do next. He broke the silence with a heavy sighed.

"His highness is right, Astraea. Don't ever blame yourself for what happened. If you're going to blame anyone, blame me. It's my fault that Diabolos found you two," He saw that the princess was still crying. He sighed as he stood up and kneeled on one leg and gently grabbed and squeezed her hands together. "Diabolos was able to sense your presence because of me. I was too careless about revealing the truth to all of you that I did not notice that the darkness was moving in on us."

"What do you mean, Mr. Sinclair?" Ignis asked.

"Well, that day in the council room all of your emotion was piling up, especially fear."

"What is wrong with fear?" Clarus asked.

"Well, fear is the source of Diabolos strength where he harnesses his energy and the source of the starscourge. He used your fears to enter the magic barrier and attack us. The fear that I brought into you, Princess. I thought you were ready for the truth but I was wrong so I truly I'm sorry please forgive me." Reno sincerely said as he bowed.

"Reno…" Astraea whispered. "Please don't be sorry, it's not your fault."

"No, it was my fault. Diabolos were able to sense your presence because I let you two out of the Crown city...out of the protection of the Crystal of Light."

"So it's both our fault?" Noctis asked.

"No, it's not Your Highness!" Carbuncle suddenly appeared on the table. "Sorry for just arriving late, I was talking to the Draconian."

"Bahamut? What are you talking about?" Reno turned to her and stood up.

"Bahamut made this for the Warriors of Light to further protect them against the darkness," The Guardian's horn glowed, and with a flash of light two star-shaped charms(KH Wayfinder) appeared and floated towards the warriors.

"What is this?" Noctis asked while looking at the blue star-shaped charm on his hand.

"Its protective charm and it is made from the elemental crystals. It will help you hide your presence from Diabolos."

"Our presence?" both warriors asked.

Carbuncle saw the distraught in their eyes. "You haven't explained it to them, Reno?"

"I was going to until you show up. So please be my guess, Cally."

Carbuncle nodded and turned towards the warriors. She explained to them how Diabolos could sense their presence. When both for them met for the very first time a chain reaction occurred. When one of more warrior of Light gathered together their presence and their light with be strengthened in which Diabolos was able to detect and like Reno said Diabolos took the opportunity to attack when all of them was distraught about the real history of Eos and Astraea memory being showed is his way playing with the Fire Maiden.

"Sorry, Cally, but are you saying that is not wise for me and Noctis be together then?" Astraea asked as she wiped her tears away and glanced at The Prince, who had a worried expression.

"No, don't do that as both warriors of Light and Champion of the Astrals you two should be always by each other's side to protect and help each other. As your guardians, we should be the ones who should protect you two against Diabolos. As Reno said, we failed to protect both of you so please don't blame yourself, Fire Maiden."

"Cally is right, Your Highnesses," Reno smiled at both royals. "You two should never be apart and don't worry about Diabolos. The other Astrals were able to seal him back to the dark realm." he saw how both warriors shivered at the mention of the dark realm. "I knew being in the dark realm was horrifying. He used your own emotions against you. But I was impressed that you two both saw in his depiction and were able to fight against his daemons. That is the sign that you two are the destined Warriors of Light and Champion of the Astrals. The ones who will destroy the darkness forever. That is your destiny and your future," both champions stiffened and gulped. He saw it and gave them a gentle smile. "But for now forget about your destiny at the moment, for you two deserve a must needed rest."

"Reno is right, little ones. Don't worry about the future." Regis said as both warriors turned to him. "Be at ease, you two don't have to fight for now."

"Then what will I do then, Dad?"

"I want you to live as a normal teenager like before." The king stated. "You will continue to attend your class and continue your royal study,"

Noctis nodded. "Okay then...but what about Astraea then?" he turned to her.

"The Prince is right. What about me, Your Majesty? Do I need to stay hidden again?"

"No," Regis shook his head. "You will no longer hide. Like my son, I want you to have a normal life. So you will attend the same school as he is."

"You mean, Lucis Regal Academy?" Astraea asked.

"Yes," Regis replied. "You will be in the same class as my son."

"Well then in that case, please take care of me, Prince Noctis." Astraea stood and bowed gracefully at the prince.

"C'mon stop that! I told you to call me Noct." he stood up and walked beside her. "I know it's too late, but welcome to Insomnia, Astraea Lumina." he held up his hand and smiled at her.

She gazed at his face, then to his open hand with a smile she shook it. "Thank... you, Noct."

The adults in the room smiled at the exchange of the two warriors.

**_"Look like a sister is in good hands,"_** Regis heard Somnus' voice inside his head. He turns toward the door to find him looking at them.

_**"Don't worry Somnus, I make sure Astraea will have the life she deserves."**_

_**"Thank you, Regis,"**_

Regis slightly nodded at him, which founder King returned before his spirit faded. With a sigh, he looked down at the Ring of Lucii. I promise I will protect them.

"Your Majesty?" Clarus stood up.

Regis snapped out from his thoughts and turned towards him. "Yes."

"You still have a meeting with the press. Do you want to cancel it?"

The king turned towards the warriors to see them happily talking to each other.

"Sorry, young ones, but I need to go right now."

"Of course… Your Majesty. And Thank you for everything and thank you for the meal."

"You're welcome, Astraea. Noctis, please take care of our guest."

Noctis nodded. "Don't worry, Dad, she is in good hands."

"Thank you, Your Highness. Please take care of my daughter."

"I will, Mrs. Lumina. You don't have to worry about a thing."

"Don't worry mother, I will be okay," she smiled at her before turning to Noctis. "Hey, Noct, Can we continue our tour? After all, you promise we will go to the Skywalk?"

"Yeah, your right, Can we?"

"Of course," Regis chuckled. "You two are free to do whatever you want. Just let Carbuncle and Reno stay with you, okay?" Both warriors nodded. "But promise one thing?"

"What is that, Your Majesty?" Astraea asked.

"After resting you two will join me again at dinner."

Both warriors smiled and bowed. "It will be our pleasure, Your Majesty." both said in unison. The king just smiled and bid him goodbye.

Aerith kissed her daughter on the head. "Don't cause trouble for the Prince, alright, Astraea."

"Yes, mother. I promise," she hugged her and bid her goodbye.

With that, the trio walked out the door and closed it behind them.

"So… where to?" Reno asked as he stood behind Astraea."

Ignis stood up and walked behind the prince. While Cally went and jumped to Noctis's shoulder.

"Can I come with you, Master?" she asked.

"Of course you can come, Cally. But please call me Noct."

The guardian nodded. "Thank you, Noct."

"Okay then let go to the sky bridge," Noctis said as he bowed down and gestured his hand forward. "After you, Lady Astraea."

She frowned. "Hahaha hilarious, Noct," she jokingly punched him in the shoulder as she passed him. "Quit fooling around and let's go," she said and walked out the door.

With a smile, Noctis followed her. Ignis and Reno smiled at each other before following them.

After pushing the elevator button, Noctis turned to his adviser. "Hey Ignis, where are Prompto and Gladio, are they okay?"

"They are fine. Gladio is training with the Crownguards while Prompto is still at school, but both were been informed about your awakening."

"What about you, Ignis, are you alright?" she asked.

The adviser arranged his glasses before smiling at her. "I'm fine, thank you for your concern."

The princess smiled and lowered her head as she felt her face blushed. Reno saw her blushed, but before he could talk the elevator door opened.

"NOCT!" Prompto shouted and hugged him. Noctis grunted as he stumbled back while Cally jumped toward Reno's shoulder. "I was so worried Buddy! I thought you would never wake up," he whined as he choked the prince with his embrace.

"Can't breathe..." Noctis gasped.

"Woah… that's enough," Gladio yanked the blonde up as he stepped out of the elevator.

Noctis coughed as he got free. "Are you trying to kill me, Prompto?" he asked while rubbing his bruised neck.

"Sorry… Prince," he stopped moving and let the future shield dangle him in the air.

"I'm joking," The prince chuckled. "Put him down, Gladio."

"Are you sure? He did threaten your life, Your Highness."

"Gladio is right. That action should not go unpunished, he needs to be Imprisoned for threatening the life of the prince," Ignis added.

Prompto eyes widened, and he started to panic. "What! NO, I didn't mean it. Forgive me!" Prompto sputtered.

"Maybe you're right, Ignis," Noctis turned to his adviser, then his shield.

"C'mon buddy… I was only joking," the blonde sighed.

Noctis and Gladio gazed at each other, then towards the blonde. Prompto is about to cry when the two burst out laughing.

"You had your fun, Gladio, put him down."

The future shield chuckled as he put the blonde down. "Sorry about that, Prompto. We are only joking."

The blonde huffed. "That is not a very good joke. I thought I was going to jail and went did Ignis start making jokes." he turned towards the advisor.

"You said I was joking?" Ignis replied, remained firm.

"Oh, you're not…" Prompto's face fell as he stepped behind the prince.

"Don't believe Specs for a minute he was just joking too."

Prompto peaked behind the prince and looked at Ignis. The adviser arranged his glasses before smiling. "I apologize, I can't help myself."

The blond let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goddess… I'm safe..."

Noctis chuckled and gently whacked him on the back. "So what brings you here, Do you ditch school just for me?"

"What...no…. A Crownguard from the Citadel when and fetch me. He said it was King's order."

"Really, My father did that? Why?"

"Maybe he saw your friend's devotion." Cally chimed-in. "After all, Mr. Argentum has been staying here at night to look after you and he will only go out to school and will be back here at night. He did that for 3 days straight."

"Really you did that, Prompto?"

"Yeah… of course, that's what friends are for," Prompto shyly smiled and scratched the back of his head.

"Thanks, Prompto."

"No worries, Noct, and always remember I will be here at your side."

They both chuckled to one another and the others joined in.

After laughing Prompto turned towards Astraea. "Astra! It's nice to see you too!" He went for a hug. "Are you okay?"

She hugged him back. "Yes, Prompto I'm fine and thank you for worrying. So about you are you and Gladio okay?"

"We should be asking that question, Princess," Gladio said with a smile. "But if you want to know, both of us are fine, right Prompto?"

"Yes," he nodded. "We are fine so don't worry about us, Princess."

"It's great to hear that, but please stop calling me_ princess_." she crossed her arms. "I don't like that and I'm not a _princess_!"

"Technically you are," Ignis said. "You are the descendants of the King of Solheim; by birth, you are a princess, Your Highness." he bowed.

"Well, in that case, I'm ordering all of you to stop calling me that. For now on… no more princess or your Highness or else."

"Or else what, Princess?" Noctis smirked.

Astraea narrowed her eyes at him as it turned crimson. "I will turn you into ash," she warned.

The surrounding air started to heat up as Astraea's eyes started to glow red. All of them gulped and nodded.

"Got it," Noctis chuckled. "So please Astra, calm down, you don't want to burn down the Citadel."

The Fire Maiden's eyes returned to normal. "C'mon Noct. I was only joking." she laughed. "But still I'm serious please stop with the royal stuff, after all, you don't like it either."

"Yeah... your right."

"Same goes for you three." she turned towards them. "Please call me by a name and only my name, Okay?" The trio nodded. After a moment of silence, Gladio asked.

"So where are you heading?"

"Well… Noctis is going to tour me around the Citadel. Wanna join us?" Astraea asked.

"Can we?" Prompto asked.

"Sure, let's go," Noctis said as he pushed the elevator button again.

**…**

The seven of them went on a tour inside the Citadel. Ignis acted as a tour guide and told Astraea everything she liked to know. It took them 2 hours to tour the entire citadel. The last place they went to was the rooftop where a small garden was located.

"Wow!" Astraea awed as she ran towards the railing and looked down at the city of Insomnia. "I never thought that Insomnia is this big!"

"Yeah.. the view in your room is different from here, right?" Noctis asked.

She nodded and continued to look around. "So do you think we can go on a tour around the city next?" she asked.

"I don't know," The prince glanced at Ignis.

Before the Advisor could talk Reno butted in. "I can ask the King if you want, Astraea."

"Really please do Reno and ask my mother too, okay?"

The guardian nodded with a flash of red light, and he teleported where the king was.

…

He saw the King in the press room. He waited until the reporters left before revealing himself.

"Reno what are you here? Where are the Astraea and Noctis?" Regis asked.

"Don't worry they are fine, Your Majesty. I'm just here to ask for a request from the princess."

"A request?" Aerith asked.

"Yes, They have finished touring the Citadel so she asked if they can tour the city next."

"Are sure is a good thing, Reno? They just woke up. They should be resting," Aerith said.

"Aerith is right, they should not tire themselves," Clarus added.

"C'mon it's only a tour around the city. If you are worried about their safety, don't be. Cally and I will join them beside Prompto and Gladio are with them too."

With a sigh, Regis stood up from his chair. "Go ahead, Reno. Let them take a tour of the city."

"Are you sure, Your Majesty?" Clarus asked.

"Yes, Reno is right, they are safe as long they will not go out of the city and it won't hurt to give them some freedom. Somnus would want that."

"Okay then," Aerith sighed and turned towards the guardian. "Just make sure they don't get into any trouble, Reno."

"You can count on me," he smiled.

"Just make sure you return before sundown, Reno. So that my son and Astraea could take a rest before we eat dinner and tell both Mr. Amicitia and Argentum that they are welcome to join us."

"I will do, Your Majesty. Well then, I will be on my way." he bowed before teleporting.

**…**

When Reno returned, he did not waste time telling them that the King approved her request as long as Carbuncle and he would come with them and they would return to the Citadel before sundown and the dinner invitation of the King. They all accepted the conditions and went down at the Citadel front doors only to find a black convertible and Cor waiting for them.

"Woah!" Reno whistled. "Nice car."

"It's the Regalia," Noctis said as he stopped beside it.

"Regalia?" Astraea asked.

"Yes, It's my father's personal car."

"His Majesty's car?" she exclaimed, "Does it mean he wants us to use this, Marshal?"

"Yes, it's one of the King's conditions and His Majesty wanted all of you to have fun so here." Cor handed the prince some money. "Do as you please but stay out of trouble."

Noctis nodded as he took the money then he turned towards Ignis. "So Specs looks like your gonna be our driver."

"I will be glad to," Ignis nodded and took the key from the Marshal.

"So how will we fit? There are six of us." Prompto asked as he looked at the car.

"Yeah...your right." Noctis scratched the back of his head.

"Don't worry I'm on it." Reno cheerfully said, Cally, would you mind?" Cally nodded and jumped towards the Prince's shoulder with a flash of red light he transformed into a Red Chocobo chick. "TADA!" he exclaimed.

"Wow… Reno… I forgot how cute you are!" she crouched down and cuddled him. "And you're soft too!"

Reno nuzzled himself into his Master body before smiling. "Well… Thank you, Master. I would like to stay like this forever but we have a tour to get to right?"

"Yeah, Right..." she murmured and stood up and turned towards the others.

"Alright then, let's go," Noctis went and opened the door for her in the backseat while Prompto went in front.

"I call shotgun!"

"Prompto please let Princess ride in front. For I can't let her Highness ride in the back." Ignis said.

"No… it's okay… I can ride in the middle."

"No… I will not permit it," Ignis said in a stern tone. "It's the front seat or nothing, Your Highness." he bowed.

She took a glance at Noctis. He shrugged his shoulder. "Just go with it so that we can go."

"Fine… but Ignis, I told you a thousand times please stop with the royal stuff."

"I apologize. I couldn't help it after all. I was raised to serve the royal family. Looks like old habits die hard." he gave her a gentle smile.

She slightly blushed and lowered her head. "Oh… That's fine... Ignis. You don't have to apologize and it's okay you don't have to change for me..." she whispered. "Do as you please…"

Seeing her being flustered, Ignis lets out a gentle chuckle. "I can't do that, it's your wish so don't worry I will keep it in mind. So… Astraea would you mind getting in?" he opened the passenger door for her.

"Yeah… of course… Thank you…" she nodded and hurriedly got in the seat. Ignis gently closed it and smiled at her one last time before walking up the driver seat.

After witnessing the cute interaction between Astraea and Ignis the others just glanced at the others before smiling and getting in themselves. Noctis took a sit on the back of the driver while Prompto went into the middle and Gladio in the back of Astraea.

"We will be going then, Marshal." Ignis bowed.

"Okay, just be back before sundown."

"Well do, Marshal." Ignis bowed one last time before stepping in the driver's seat and staring up at the car.

Ignis put up the roof before driving away. The Marshal stood at the bottom of the stairs and waited from the Regalia to go out the gate before going inside and reporting to the king.

**…**

Like before, Ignis acted as the tour guide of the group. Telling and answering all the Fire Maiden questions. They stop at several locations like the academy and the prince's apartment. They went to the Arcade and played a few games before setting out again. Ignis was driving at the same pace as the surrounding traffic when they passed a statute of one of the King's of yore.

"Ignis, can you stop the car?"

"Certainly," he said before veering the side of the road.

When the car stopped Ignis stepped out and opened the door for her as the other disembarked the car.

"Thanks," she smiled and got out of the car carrying Reno.

Ignis just nodded before closing the door. Together they went and stood at the bottom of the giant statue.

"It's him, right? The Founder King?" Astraea asked as he gazed at it.

"Yes… Somnus Lucis Caelum… The Mystic." Noctis said.

"We should thank him again, Noct, for saving us both," she turned to him.

"You're right, maybe we can ask his Majesty to do that," he said with a smile before turning around. "Come let us go, we still have a lot of places to go to."

She nodded as the others went and headed back. She remained standing there and looking at the statue. Reno heard her sighed. He looked up and saw her looking at the statue with sadness in her eyes.

"Is there something wrong, Astraea?"

"No, there's nothing wrong," she shook her head and glanced down. "Come, let's go." she smiled and ran towards the others.

As they get in the car Prompto asks if they can go to his place to get his camera. Noctis agreed, and they went to get it. After getting it, they continued their tour around the city. Every time they stopped, they took a picture. After touring quite some time, they decide to stop for a while to have a snack. They bought some snacks from a convenience store after eating. They continued their tour again. They were able to go around the inner city when the clock struck five.

"It's already five o'clock so we better go back now," Ignis stated.

"You're right, Ignis, but can we still stop at Radiant Garden?"

Ignis gazed at his watch and nodded. "Sure, we can still do that," he said before driving off.

**...**

When they arrived at the park Noctis was the one who opened the door for Astraea.

"Thanks, Noct."

"Do not mention it," he smiled before gesturing his hand. "This way I want to show you something."

"Astraea, you can put down now for I want to transform back," Reno said.

She nodded and put him down after nodding he went behind a tree. The other waited for him to come out. When he came out, he was in his human form once again. He walked over and stopped beside the Fire Maiden. Carbuncle then jumped to his shoulder.

"We will wait, you all can go without us," Reno said.

"Are sure?" she asked.

"Yes." he smiled.

After nodding, Noctis grabbed Astraea's hands and dragged her inside the park.

"Hey, Noct we for us!" Prompto went running after them together with Ignis and Gladio.

Reno sighed as both warriors were now out of sight. "What is wrong?" Cally asked. "I've been looking at you, you seem down."

Reno sighed again. "it's not me, Cally. it's the princess."

"The princess, what wrong with her. Is she not feeling well?"

"She is fine. I just felt her emotion when we were at Somnus's statue. I felt her sadness and pain."

"What? Why? Do you think she remembered something?"

"I don't know." he ran his hand through his bangs. "I hope not," he sighed before turning towards the path that the others took. "Let's follow them in secret, Cally."

"I thought we were going to stay here?"

"Well, I just want to make sure that Astraea will not remember it."

"Remember what?"

"Her meeting with King Regis. This is the same park they met years ago."

"Oh... that… you are right, let's follow them, Reno"

**…**

Inside the park, the five teens went and took pictures. After a while, Noctis and Astraea venture out on their own and when they reach an arched wooden bridge they stop.

"They are beautiful, right?" Noctis asked.

She followed his gaze and saw she was looking at the white lotus. "Yes, they are."

"Do you like them, Astra?"

"The lotus? Yes, they are my favorite flower."

"I was right to bring you here." he smiled.

"Thank, Noct they are beautiful."

"I told you, don't mention it," He smiled as he looked past her. "Wait here, I will get something."

She nodded as he ran off.

She sighed and looked down at the flower. She can help but to feel sad while looking at them. Suddenly her heart and head started to ache, so she went towards the nearest bench and sat down. She inhaled and exhaled softly and closed her eyes to calm herself down.

In the distance, Reno and Cally were studying her.

"Do you think she's going to remember it?"

"I prayed that she wouldn't, it's not the right time."

"I prayed for that too," Cally whispered.

They were about to go to her but they stopped when the prince returned with two ice-cream in hand.

"Hey are you okay, Astra?"

She opened her eyes and looked up. "I'm fine, Noct," she smiled. "I'm just tired…" she sighed and looked at the ice cream in his hand. "What are those?"

"Oh… this is? Is a Sea-salt ice, here, have some." he handed her one and sat beside her. Noctis noticed that she was reluctant to try it. "C'mon it's delicious try it."

She nodded and took a huge bite. He laughed when she shivered uncontrollably.

She frowned. "You could have warmed me, Noct."

"But why? Haven't you eaten ice cream before?"

"Yes, I have but now like this one," she said and gazed at it. "It's much tastier than the one we had in Galahd."

"Maybe because we are eating it together," she turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "Do you eat it alone?" she nodded, with a smile he said. "Well, they said the food tasted better with company. They said that _Friends eat ice-cream together and talk and laugh about the stupidest things_ that make it more delicious."

She smiled. "Yeah, you are right."

"Don't worry, you will never be alone, I promise." Noctis smiled at her.

She returned it before eating another bite with him. They both shivered and closed their eyes at the same time.

"Hey! not fair, I want one!"

They both opened their eyes to see Prompto pouting in front of them. "It's not fair, Guys… why did you wait for me!"

"Sorry, Prompto, you were busy taking pictures." Noctis smiled.

Prompto huffed. "Fine, make it up to me, Noct, by buying me not one but two!"

"Two!? Are you sure you can do it? Are you not looking after your shape?" Noctis laughed as he studied his figure.

"Well… you're right, but…" he said. "I can have a cheat day for once. So buy me two of those." he grabbed his hand and pushed him on his feet. "C'mon Noct let's go."

"But we can't leave her here."

Don't worry Gladio and Ignis is behind me, C'mon let go the shop is closing out soon."

Noctis looked at her. She just smiled and nodded. With that, the blonde dragged the Prince away. Seconds, later Ignis and Gladio arrived and kept her company. When Noctis and Prompto returned to have enough ice-cream for everyone. They went and sat on the grass and told stories while eating the ice-cream. They were happily eating that they did not notice how the two guardians were looking at them from a distance.

"Looks like we need not worry. She is in excellent hands." Cally whispered.

"Yeah… she will be fine, after all, she is home now." Reno murmured.

Both glanced at each other and smiled.

**…**

After 15 minutes of talking, they decided to go back to the Citadel, and because the building was near; they decided to walk. After meeting Reno and Cally at the park Regalia, they walked back towards the Citadel. Only to find Cor and Aerith waiting for them.

"Sweetheart, there you are? Why are you walking?"

She explained how they were just coming from the park next to the Citadel and decided to walk from there.

"Ok then... go and rest for a while and freshen up. We will have dinner with the King within an hour."

She nodded and went inside together with Noctis and Prompto while Gladio and Ignis went to fetch the regalia.

**…**

After an hour Claudia and Mecia were in Astraea's chamber helping her to get ready. They dressed her in a simple off the shoulder blue and white high and low dress. (FF14 Miqo'te Spring Dress).

"Do I need to wear this? My old clothes are fine," she said with slumped shoulders.

"Astraea, you need to dress up, after all, it's a formal dinner with his Majesty," Claudia said as she tried to strengthen up the curls in the dress.

"But it's only dinner, why should we dress up like this?"

"It's the royal protocol," Mecia said as she grabbed a blue ribbon and tied it around her waist, she then clipped a lotus pin on it to rescue it. "And beside this dinner is special."

"Special? why?"

Both maids glanced at each other before Mecia answered her question. "Well, it's very rare to see both King Regis and Prince Noctis enjoy a meal together."

"Really? Why?"

"King Regis is always busy in his duty and Prince Noctis is busy with his schoolwork that they never see and talk to each let alone have a meal together as a family. Not only that, they never spent time together as a family. They only see each other if there are royal events."

"Really?" Astraea lowered her eyes. "That is sad that they are like that… they are so close but yet far. They should treasure what they have, for we don't know what tomorrow brings." Both maids lowered their heads in agreement. "But maybe I could help them," Both maids looked at her in question. With a smile, she said. "I will try to patch their relationship. I will do anything I can to make his Majesty and Prince Noctis be together. So that they can be an actual father and son and not The King and the Prince."

"That's a lovely gesture, Astraea…" Mecia said. "If there is anything we can help please reach out to us."

"I will thank you... Mecia... Claudia."

"Your very welcome, Highness…" both said in unison and bowed.

Astraea wanted to protest but decided not to. Instead, she focused her attention on the dress she was wearing and looked at herself in the mirror. She ran her hands on the fabric. "It's' beautiful…" she whispered.

Both maids glanced at each other and smiled slightly. "Let me do your hair next, and Mecia will do your make-up. So please sit down." Claudia said.

She nodded and let her maids do their work. After 10 minutes they were done. Claudia did not style her hair, instead, she let it down and Mecia just applied a light make-up on her.

"We are done," Claudia announced.

With a smile Astraea looked at herself in the mirror, her eyes lit up when she saw herself. "I look beautiful, Mecia… Claudia, thank you."

Both bowed back and smiled. "It's our pleasure to serve you, Princess."

"I said stop with the royal title." she crossed her arms and pouted.

Both maids looked at each other and giggled to themselves. Seconds later, she joined in. They stopped when they heard a knock on the door and Reno's voice. Mecia went and opened it to let him in.

"Are you ready, Astr-" Reno stopped at his track when he saw her. "Wow… you're stunning, Princess." he smiled.

"How many times I told you never to call me Princess. Reno!" she punched him in the stomach.

"Ouch…" he rubbed his stomach. "Sorry... I forgot… but you can't blame me, Astraea. For you look like a princess in the dress," he chuckled and winked at her.

The princess huffed and went walking out the door.

_You never changed, Princess _with a chuckle as he followed her with Mecia and Claudia not far behind.

**…**

Astraea and Reno were the last ones who arrived at the dining hall; everyone was there, including her mother and her uncle. She greeted them with a curtsy and bowed. The others waste no time and praise her appearance. She thanked them before taking her seat. With the help of Reno, she was able to sit down and when Reno took his seat and while waiting for the maids to finish preparing the table Noctis noticed her scar, he can't help but question it.

"Does it hurt, Astra?" he asked.

"What do you mean, Noct?"

"The scar?" his eyes drifted towards it.

"Oh...this?" she traced her fingers on the scar. "Don't worry it does not hurt anymore. It's already healed."

"So why is that there a scar? I thought you have healing ability, Astra?" Prompto asked.

"Well I do… but because the wound was caused by Diabolos it left a scar. Reno even tried using his tears on me but still, it did not erase it. But please don't worry about it, I'm alright to have this thing on me."

"What! Why! It does not look good." Noctis said.

Well, you're right, it's ugly but for me, this scar is a trophy."

"A trophy for what?" Gladio asked.

"To remember that night where we were able to fight his darkness and won. And it will remind me that he is still out there and that we need to prepare for him in the future."

"Wow...You're really optimistic and see the positive in everything, Astra." Noctis said.

"Of course, that's the only thing we can do. We need to look at the positive in life for us to move on."

"Well then I still have a lot to learn from you, Astra," Noctis smiled at her. "But don't worry even if you have that scar you are still beautiful right, guys?"

"His Highness is right, Astraea. You are still beautiful." Ignis added.

"Yup… you're not just stunning," Gladio chuckled. "You are tough too, especially how you knock me out the other day and fight with the daemons. Noctis is right, he was a lot to learn you from."

"Yeah...what they said… so you're pretty and friendly. And I'm glad we are friends," Prompto smiled shyly.

She wound help but cried. "Thank you… everyone…"

"You don't have to thank us, that's what friends and family are for," Noctis smiled.

"But still thank you for your warm welcome… all of you… I don't know how I could ever repay you kindness."

"Well… you can sing for us while we wait," Noctis suggested.

She nodded and wiped her tears away. "Alright… that I can do, If his Majesty permits its?"

"It would be an honor to hear you sing again, so please go ahead."

With a smile, she stood up, and with a sighed she started to sing. (Fire Force - "Spark Again" | ENGLISH Ver | AmaLee).

In the middle of the song, Regis heard Somnus's voice. **"**_**My sister is truly outstanding."**_

"_**You're right, she is really **_**optimistic. My son is right we can learn from her."**

"**Always kept her by your side and she will make you smile even in dark times."**

"**I will, Somnus… We will become a family if you let me."**

"**Of course, Regis, My sister is in your excellent hands."**

Regis and Somnus ended their conversation when Astraea finished her song. They all gave her a round of applause even the maids joined in. she bowed gracefully and thanked them for their praises and went and sat down again.

"Thank you, Astraea. Your voice is truly amazing."

"Thank you Noct. I'm glad you like it."

Both warriors smiled at each then after the maids finished preparing the table. Regis let the dinner commence.

During the meal, Astraea can't help but talk about their tour around the Citadel and City with the King. Even Noctis joined the conversation, both father and son had a wonderful conversation. She smiled seeing this and let them talk while she ate in silence.

After a while, they all finished their main course and went to have dessert, and during this time Regis has informed Astraea that her transfer to Lucis Regal Academy is now complete and she will start this Monday and she will be at the same class as the prince. She smiled and thanked the King for his help, but she immediately felt afraid. Noctis felt and saw her distress.

"Astraea, why is it wrong, are you okay?"

She gazed at him. "Yes… I'm fine, Noct. I'm just worried."

"Worry about what?"

"About school…" she gazed down.

"Don't be... after all, Prompto and I will be there for."

"Yeah...Noct is right. So don't be afraid, Astraea." Prompto said with a cheerful smile.

She saw their earnest smile and with that, she felt relieved and with a smile she said. "Thank you… Noct… Prompto."

Prompto blushed before replying. "You're welcome… Astraea…"

Noctis nodded. "No worries, Astra."

"Don't worry Astraea, we are here too if you need us," Gladio added.

"You have our undying support," Ignis stated.

She smiled at them. "Then I will look forward to your guidance Ignis and your protection Gladio. I will be in your capable hands," she bowed.

"Not at all, A friend of the prince is a friend of mine," Gladio chuckled.

"It's my pleasure to serve you too, Astraea." Ignis smiled at her.

She nodded with that all fine teens laughed and went on talking about their plans for the future.

Regis smiled, seeing how happy his son and Astraea is. He turned towards Reno and Aerith to find them smiling too. He wanted this moment to freeze so that he can keep those smiling faces, but he knows that they need to move forward. That Astraea and Noctis need to move forward so that they can fulfill their duty. So with a heavy heart, he interrupted their conversation and told Astraea and Noctis their plans for them. That they need to train to prepare them for that fateful day when fate calls them, but their life won't revolve on it. Regis stated that they will have to go to school to have a normal life but every once in a while they will train with Crownguards and Glaives but for now they need to focus on their schoolwork. Both warriors nodded and accepted the responsibility and promised the King to do their best. The King saw the determination in their eyes with a smile he promised to help them along the way. After they had already finished their dessert, Regis announced another news to Astraea. That their apartment is ready and they can now move on it.

**...**

"Wait… you casting us out, Your Majesty?" Astraea asked.

"No… I'm not, Little one." Regis shook his head and chuckled slightly. "You haven't told her about your decision, Aerith?"

"Sorry, Your Majesty. I haven't had the time to tell her."

"Tell me what, Mother?"

Aerith turned to her and held her hands and explained that they decided to move out of the Citadel to a new home. Aerith told her that their new home is near the Academy so that she can walk to it. Just like what the prince had done and for her to do that, they have to live discreetly away from prying eyes.

"You're right, Mother, it will be a problem if the people we see me going in and out of the Citadel without giving them a proper explanation."

"That is right, so are you okay with this setup, sweetheart?"

"Yes… Mother, I'm fine with this and it's a good thing for being inside the Citadel is quite boring anyway..." she gasped and suddenly covered her mouth. He turned towards the king and bowed. "I sorry, your Majesty… I'm so sorry for saying that…"

"It's fine, Astraea," he chuckled. "You are right, life inside the Citadel is quite boring. That is the second reason why I would like you to go live outside the Citadel. For living here you have to follow rules and knowing you, Little One, you have a problem following it so I gave your Mother the permission to move out to give you both freedom to do whatever you want."

"Oh… Thank you, your Majesty." she blushed and lowered her head. "Don't worry I promise not to cause trouble, Your Majesty."

"I will take your word, Astraea. But please remember that you are always welcome here at the Citadel... for this is your home too and rest assured your chamber will always be ready for you," Regis said.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will try to visit often."

"How about during the weekends?" Reno entered the conversation. "You and the Prince can sleep here during the weekends and do some training."

"That's a great idea, Reno. What about it Noct, Are you in?"

Noctis nodded. "That sounds great... I'm in."

"Okay then… it's settled. You and Astraea will live a normal life outside the Citadel. During the weekend you will continue your training. But for now, let Ignis drive both of you from and to school."

"As you wish, Your Majesty." she bowed.

"As you command, Father."

With that Regis thanked all of them for coming and joining him in dinner and because of the recent attack he still had a lot to do so he excused himself and went back to work with Clarus and Aerith by his side. While the five friends stayed and continued their conversation. After a while, both Noctis and Astraea started to feel tired. So they decided to cut short their conversation and continue it tomorrow. Noctis offered his friend to stay for the night; they accepted it, so after bidding goodnight they retreated to their chamber to rest. She went to her chamber with Reno. After changing into her nightclothes, she went towards the terrace and gazed up at the night sky.

"Father…" she whispered. "If you look down on me, be peace for I'm okay now… you don't have to worry. King Regis and the Prince and the others are friendly and I don't feel afraid anymore… but please still guide me… after all, I still need to fulfill my promise... I will be your legacy… just you wait…" she took one last glance at the city below before walking back in, only to see that Reno is now sleeping soundly in his Chocobo chick from on the bed. She chuckled seeing this and after letting out a long yawn she climbed into bed and gathered Reno in her arms and snuggled him.

Before drifting to sleep, she remembered the fun stuff she and others did. For the first time in 8 years, she felt happy again and felt that she is finally home where she belongs.

* * *

**A/N:** I apologize for uploading late again. I kept having writers blocked and it's annoying... I said that I will try to shorten my chapter but I can't. I tried but I kept writing and writing that I did not notice the word count got so high. So my chapters will not have a proper word count. Sometime it will be just 6-7 k words or 9-12 words. Hope you will still support it. Thanks again…

THANK YOU! I hope you enjoy this and have a wonderful day and keep safe!


	33. Chapter 31

**Celebration**

"_Life is a flame that is always burning itself out, but it catches fire again every time a child is born. Life is greater than death, and hope than despair." -__George Bernard Shaw._

* * *

The next day, Reno was the first to wake up. He slowly got out of bed and transformed back into his human form. He looked down to see his master still sleeping peacefully. With a smile, he gently brushed her head.

"Astraea... wake up... it's morning," he whispered.

"Five more minutes…" Astraea murmured and stirred.

He chuckled. "Okay then, Princess… five more minutes," he pulled the covers over her body and brushed her head once more before walking up the terrace doors. Silently, he opened it before stepping out. He yawned and stretched his arms over his head and breathed the morning air. After a minute he went inside and heard a knock on the door. Silently he walked towards it and slowly opened it to find Mecia and Claudia.

"Oh… Good Morning, Mr. Sinclair," both greeted and bowed.

"Ladies… please drop the formalities. Just call me Reno," he smiled.

Both nodded. "As you wish, Reno."

"So, what are you doing here? Are you here for Astraea? If so, sorry, but she is still sleeping and I want her to remain like that for a while."

"If that is the case, we will return when she wakes up. Do you know what breakfast she likes to have for today?" Mecia asked.

"The usual… pancakes and coffee."

"What about you, Reno, do you want something while you wait?" Claudia asked.

"Yes please, a cup of dark coffee and a newspaper."

"Okay then, we will fetch your request and prepare Astraea's breakfast,"

"Just call us if you need anything else," Claudia bowed before walking away with Mecia.

He watched them disappear in the corner before closing the door. While waiting he turned on the television to watch the morning news. The topic was yet again about Astraea and the video of her fighting the Red Iron Giant and how a certain publishing house named Meteor Publishing is searching for the actual identity of the girl on the viral video and that they will pay anyone that could provide them with information. As he continued to watch he got to know that Meteor Publishing is the one responsible for giving his master the title Fire Maiden.

"The name always followed you around... huh, Astraea," he chuckled while his eyes glanced at the sleeping princess.

After the news report segment ended, he turned off the television, but before he did it; the date on the screen caught his eyes. "Wait... how could I be so careless!" he exclaimed and ran towards the door. He swung it open, causing the two maids outside to jump slightly in surprise. "Oh… sorry, did I scare you?"

"Not at all, Reno," Mecia said. "Here is your coffee and newspaper. Do you want us to leave it on the coffee table?"

"No, scratch that. What date is today?"

Both maids glanced at each other before looking at the date on the newspaper. "Today is September 22, why... is there something wrong?" Claudia asked.

"No… there is nothing wrong," he chuckled. "I just forgot how special this day is. May I ask a favor?"

"Sure… What can we do for you?" Mecia inquired.

"Can you please look after Astraea for a bit? I need to talk to King Regis."

"It will be our pleasure, Reno," Claudia said.

"Good, if she wakes up don't let her go out," he said while passing them before disappearing in a flash of red light.

"What's that all about?" Claudia turned to his sister.

"Don't know…" Mecia shrugged her shoulder before going inside the room with Claudia not far behind.

**…**

At the King's chamber, Regis was busy reading the reports from Drautos about the recent attack of the empire. Clarus was with him, standing silently at his side. Without warning, Reno suddenly appeared in front of the table. Clarus being the King's shield reacted poorly and summoned his weapon and attacked him.

"Woah! Clarus, it's me!"

"RENO!" Clarus snapped. "What do you think you are doing!? appearing like that!"

"Sorry... my bad…" he chuckled.

"Never do that again, especially with the King. I may not miss the next time... so be careful."

"Oh… is that a threat, shield?" he sneered.

Clarus rolled his eyes and unsummoned his sword. "You're hopeless…"

"Oh… don't be like that, Clarus… I was only playing," he chuckled.

Clarus huffed and crossed his arms. "So, what brought you here this early? How is the princess?"

"She is fine… I just forgot something very important. I know you are busy, Your Majesty, but we need to act upon this urgently."

"What's wrong, Reno? Does it have something to do with Astraea?"

The Guardian saw the concern in the monarch's face. "Don't worry, Your Majesty, nothing is wrong," he smiled. "But you're correct, it's something to do with the Princess."

"Astraea? Why? what happened to her?"

Reno turned around to find Aerith at the door.

"Aerith there you are!" he ran up to her. "Today is September 22."

"Yes… I know, why are you so worried about it?"

"Oh, C'mon Aerith! have you forgotten about it too?"

"Forgotten what?" she tilted her head, then her eyes went wide when she realized. "It's Astraea's birthday!"

"Finally, you remember," Reno sighed in relief.

"Oh, my god... how could I have forgotten about my daughter's birthday."

"Don't blame yourself, Aerith. I forgot about it too, for we were so caught up with the recent attack. But we can still do something about it, so let's have a party! Is that possible, Your Majesty?" he turned around to see the King did not move from his chair and his eyes were downcast at the wedding ring on his finger. "Oh… sorry about my excitement, Your Majesty," he whispered. "Today is the death anniversary of Queen Aulea. Are you okay? Do we need to stop?"

"I'm fine, Reno," he gently smiled. "Please don't mind me and continue your plan."

"My plan?"

"Yes, for Astraea's birthday?"

"Oh... that… maybe we can have a party if you are fine with it, King Regis?"

"I'm fine with it, Reno," Regis smiled. "Astraea was born first on this day at the very least It just happened to be the day of my wife's passing. But don't let her death stop you for celebrating this joyous day," he stood up and walked towards them with Clarus by his side. "We are not just celebrating her birthday, right? If I remember it correctly today is the day of her return? Her waking up from her two thousand years slumber?"

"Not only that… it's the same day of her being reborn, right?" Clarus inquired.

Reno hissed. "Please don't remind me of that day and that clown... but yes, you are correct, Clarus. On this day she's survived against all the odds and was reborn once again."

"But Reno, isn't today the same day as the fall of Solheim?" Aerith asked.

"You are correct, Aerith," Somnus' spirit appeared before them. She greeted him with a bow and he nodded before continuing. "On this day we lost everything we ever built, and we lost many lives, including our beloved parents, but still Regis is right. Astraea was born first on this day before all of that happened... before our life fell into darkness and destruction. But it did not stop us celebrating her birthday back then, and it won't stop us now. So please have a party for her honor. She deserves to be happy after all she's been through."

"Yeah… Somnus is right, Let us have a gala!" Reno exclaimed. "Even if she kept denying it, she is still the Princess of Lucis, so she deserves a grand celebration."

Somnus sighed. "But Reno, you knew she hated those kinds of parties. Remember back then... she used to run off and disappeared and returned the next day,"

"Oh... you are right," Reno scratched the back of his head. "So how about a simple party then? A party with her family and friends."

"That would be enough," Somnus smiled.

"So, it's settled then we will have a small party for her this afternoon. We will celebrate her life and her return home," Regis stated. The others nodded in agreement.

"So, what is our plan then?" Clarus asked.

"First, we need to keep this from her. I will keep her busy while you prepare for the party. Aerith, can you take it from here?"

She nodded. "I'm okay with that, but what will you do? How can you keep her busy?"

"Don't worry, I have a plan. I just need both of your blessings," the guardian gazed at the two monarchs.

"Our blessing?" Regis asked.

"Yup…" he chuckled. "I want to bond with her... just the two of us. So, will you let us go out and tour the city?"

Both royals glanced at each other before turning towards the redhead.

"You have my blessing, Reno. Just keep her safe." Regis said.

"And also don't cause any trouble," Somnus stated.

"I promise… I will keep her safe," the redhead smiled.

"What about the prince?" Clarus asked.

"I will inform them along the way. Just focus on the party," He waited for the others to nod in agreement before walking towards the door and closing it behind him.

"Are you sure Astraea will be safe with Reno?" Clarus asked.

"I have faith in him," Aerith said. "Let us just focus on the party."

"Ok then let us start preparing," Regis announced. "Aerith, go tell her maids about the party and pick a dress for her. After that go to the kitchen and tell the chefs to prepare a small banquet and Clarus please fetch Cor and Dave. If I'm correct, they are at the apartment. Tell them to return and help with the party."

"Yes, Your Majesty." both answered in unison before bowing and walking away.

When the doors closed, Somnus turned towards the King and smiled. "Thank you for this, Regis. I owe you one."

"You don't have to thank me, Somnus, you are right, Astraea deserves to be happy. So… will you be attending the party?"

"I won't miss it for the world, Regis. After all, my spirit is bound to the Ring of Lucci… so wherever you go, I go. And if I may, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, go ahead," he nodded.

"Do you have a gift in mind?"

"Hmm… I still don't have any idea; do you have something in mind?" Somnus nodded, then suddenly an image flashed in Regis's mind. "Oh! That's perfect, Somnus, thank you. I will ask Clarus to get them for me upon his return. But for now, do you want to play chess while we wait?" Regis gestured towards the chessboard on the coffee table.

The Founder King smiled. "Yes… that will be wonderful… but don't expect me to go easy on you, Regis. Even if you are my descendant, I will still defeat you."

He chuckled. "I won't have it any other way, So give me your all, Founder King."

**…**

At the Prince's chamber, Noctis and Prompto are now awake and starting to prepare for the day.

"Hey, Noct. Thanks for vouching for me. I can't believe I could skip school again."

"No problem, Buddy. Come on, let's go to Astraea. We still have a lot of touring to do," The prince said as he opened the door to find Reno there.

"Good Morning, Prince Noctis. May I ask where you are going?"

"Oh… Reno, Good morning. Prompto and I were about to go to Astraea. So where is she? Is she awake?"

"She is still in her room, but don't go there because I have a special mission for the both of you.

"A mission?" Prompto asked as he walked beside his friend.

"Yup… it's an important one," Reno smiled widely at them.

**…**

After leaving the Prince's chamber, Reno returned to Astraea's room to find her already awake and ready for the day.

"Oh… Morning princess. You look stunning today," he chuckled as he studied her.

The princess is wearing a long-sleeved blouse with a blue vest over it and black leggings paired with red knee-high boots. (Refia Final Fantasy III).

Astraea glared. "How many times have I told you to stop calling me that!"

"Sorry… I can't help it."

She huffed and crossed her arms. "I will let you off the hook, for now, Reno. So where were you? I was hungry so I have no choice but to have breakfast without you."

"I just went for a walk."

"Okay then, did you have your breakfast already?" he nodded. "That's great. So let us go to Noctis then. He did promise me that we will go see the city wall," she walked towards the door.

"Sorry, but I can't let you do that," Reno stepped in.

"Why?"

"Well… It's my time to spend quality time with you, Princess. So, let us continue the tour."

"Just the two of us?"

"Yup! So, c'mon let's go!"

"WAIT! WHAT!" she exclaimed as Reno suddenly grabbed her and carried her in his arms. "Put me down, Reno!"

"No can't do, Princess," he laughed as he walked towards the terrace. "I hope you are not afraid of heights, Astraea," he said as he jumped on the stone railing.

"Reno! What are you doing!"

"What does it look like... we are going to fly!" he announced before his wings burst out from his back. Astraea grabbed hold of him and shrieked when he leaped down.

Inside the room, Mecia and Claudia were left dumbfounded as they looked at each other for answers.

"What's that about?" Mecia asked.

"I don't know… let's ask the others," Claudia said before opening the door to find Aerith.

"Good, you're here, did Reno and Astraea leave already?" they nodded. "Great, we need to act fast for we have lots to do," Aerith said before entering the room and closing the door behind her.

**…**

"Princess, open your eyes,"

"NO!" she shouted and buried her face into his neck.

"Astraea…" he whispered. "Please open your eyes, I promise you won't regret it."

She slowly opened her eyes and glanced down. Her eyes widened in astonishment as they were flying above the city.

"See, I told you," he smiled as he arranged her in his arms.

"Wait! Reno, someone might see us!" she exclaimed as she looked into his eyes.

He chuckled. "Don't worry, nobody will see us, for we are invisible."

"Are you sure?"

"Yup, trust me, so stop worrying and enjoy the flight," he smiled. "So, do you have any requests? Where do you want to go?"

"Outside the city perhaps?"

"Sorry, we can't do that… pick another place."

"Okay then… let's go to the eastern wall. I want to see the ocean."

"Now, that's a great idea…" he nodded. "Hold on tight, Astraea!" he chuckled as he encircled a building before going towards the eastern wall.

While flying Astraea glanced down and saw the city was buzzing with life. A smile appeared on her face, then she focused her attention on her guardian. Reno's ponytail was flowing with the wind as they veered between the tall buildings.

"What are you thinking?" he asked as he gazed down.

She smiled."Nothing... is just weird that this feels so familiar… That we have done this before._"_

_Crap! _He thought.

Astraea saw the distressed in his eyes. "Is something wrong, Reno?"

"Nothing… nothing is wrong!" he babbled out and averted his eyes.

"Reno, are you hiding something from me?"

He gulped. "What are you talking about? I'm not hiding anything, Princess," he chuckled nervously and gazed down only to see her glaring eyes and he knew she won't back down and ask him again_. Sorry about this, Princess. Drastic time goes for drastic measures._ With a single flap of his wings, he dove below a bridge.

"RENO!" she shrieked.

He laughed and continued to fly at top speed while veering between buildings. While the Princess kept on shouting for him to stop as she was clinging to him for dear life. But the redhead did not stop and went straight up. Halfway up, he spun.

"STOP!"

He just laughed and kept on spinning. Astraea shouted and unintentionally yanked his ponytail. He automatically pulled it back, causing him to drop Astraea.

"RENO!"

"SHIT!" he dived and caught her just in the nick of time. He sighed in relief and floated towards the east wall. Slowly, he hovered down and carefully placed her on the ground. "Astraea, are you okay?" he asked while still hugging her.

She slowly looked up and her eyes sharpened in an instant. "Never do that again!" she shouted while hitting him on his chest.

"Ouch!" he whined while trying to block her fists. "Okay… I will not do it again," she tried to land a few punches, but he caught both of her wrists. "You know you're cute when you are mad, Princess," He chuckled before winking and smiling at her. Astraea's eyes and hair turned crimson. _Crap… I'm dead! _Before he could react, she kicked him in the groin area. He gasped and stumbled back while Astraea turned around and went stomping away. "Wait! come back!" he said while wincing and running at her.

"NO! Stay there, don't go near me!" she shouted.

His marks glowed, causing him to stop in his tracks. He sighed and watched her walk away and disappear in the corner. It took five minutes for his mark to stop glowing; he wasted no time and went to where Astraea is. After turning the corner, he saw her sitting in the middle of the wall and gazing at the vast sea.

"There you are, Princess," he smiled and sat down beside her. "You okay?"

She huffed and ignored him. "Oh c'mon, I didn't mean it. I'm sorry I got carried away. I promise I won't do that ever again," he put his hands together and pleaded. But she continued to ignore him. He sighed before changing into his chick form. He ruffled his feathers before stepping on her lap and flapping his wings. "C'mon please forgive me… forgive your cute little Chocobo," he whispered while nuzzling her.

Astraea looked down and saw his puppy eyes. "Don't look at me in those eyes, Reno," she glared. "It won't save you for being toasted," she grinned. "I'm wondering if the sayings are true... that Chocobo's taste like chicken?"

"Don't believe everything you hear and besides I'm not a Chocobo! I'm a phoenix and your flames won't work at me."

"Well, it does not hurt if I try," she smiled while summoning a fire spell.

Reno gulped and ruffled his feather. Both of them stare at each other without blinking. A few seconds passed and Astraea lips twitched. "Hmmppp hahaha! You should look at your face, Reno. Do you really think I would hurt my Little Chocobo?" she smiled and hugged him.

He chuckled nervously. "You can't blame me. Your threat is very believable. I'm just relieved that I won't get toasted."

"My threat still stands Reno, do that stupid act again then you will be a roasted Phoenix next time, got it?" she poked his beak.

"Yeah… got it," he snorted and turned into his adult Chocobo form and went behind her so she could lay into his body.

"So soft!" she whispered and buried her face into his chest. "Let stay like this for a while, Reno."

"As you wish, Princess," he whispered as he put his neck around her.

They continue to cuddle while talking about their past. Astraea laugh when Reno reminded her of the stupid things they did on the island. But that changed when she mentioned her father.

"I miss him, Reno. I miss my father. I know what happened to Galahd and my father dying is fate… but…" she paused and took a deep breath. "But I cannot believe he's gone… that he will never come back, and it's all my fault... Do you think he will forgive me for not saving him?" she looked at him with tear-filled eyes.

Seeing her tears, Reno quickly reverted into human form and hugged her. "Oh… Please don't do that… never blame yourself, Astraea," he cooed. "Your father won't want that and besides you save so many lives that night. So please stop blaming yourself, you did everything you can... so stop crying…" he leaned back and caressed her cheeks to wipe the tears. "After all, you're the one who said that _No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living, No matter how devastating the blows, maybe."_

"No..." she shook her head. "It was Astraea Izunia that said that, not me."

"Oh… you're right," he chuckled softly and gazed at her lovingly. "It's just… you look exactly like her; you even think and act like her. It's like she is sitting in front of me."

"Really?"

"Yup."

"But I'm not like her, you know… I'm always afraid and I kept doubting myself… I could never be like her."

"What? Do you think she did not have fears and doubts? Before she became the _Fire Maiden_… Astraea Izunia was like you… she was afraid and doubtful but even with those emotions she never gave up and because of her determination, she became the _Fire Maiden_. So please stop doubting yourself and throw those emotions away. For you are the _Fire Maiden_, the champion of Ifrit."

"Are you okay with that?"

"Okay with what?"

"Me, using her title?"

"Yes, it's your lineage, after all, you are her descendant, Astraea. So, bare the title with honor and pride." he smiled while wiping her tears away.

"If that is the case," she nodded before standing up and bowing. "I will honor the title... I will become the _Fire Maiden_, who's flames will never go out. I will fulfill the prophecy and save Eos once and for all," she declared as her eyes and hair turned crimson.

Reno smiled at her and stood. "I will be here at your side, always remember that, Princess," he bowed gracefully.

"How many times do I need to tell you to stop calling me that!" she glared and smacked him on the chest. "I already gave you the order, why are you not following it?"

"Ahh…well about that," he laughed while rubbing his head. "Just like you, Princess. I don't enjoy following orders, especially that one. So sorry... I will keep calling you that, Princess," he smiled.

"So much for a royal guardian." she scoffed and crossed her arms. "But please… Reno, can you stop it? I really don't like it?"

"Fine…" he sighed. "Your wish is my command, Your Highness," he bowed dramatically while smiling widely.

She sighed in exasperation and pushed him. "You're hopeless,"

"I know... and if I were you, I will get used to it, Princess," he chuckled.

She shook her head and punched him jokingly on the shoulder as she passed him. "So, Reno… is there any way we could go outside the city?"

"Sorry Astraea, but we really can't do that. King Regis and your mother told me to stay inside the city and besides, the barrier would stop us."

She sighed in defeat and went to the edge of the wall and touched the barrier. Her eyes widened when her hand went through it. "Interesting…" she whispered and grinned. "Hey Reno!" she turned to him. "Do you mind me asking, how fast can you transform into a phoenix?

"It will only take me a few seconds, why?" he asked. "What are you planning?"

"Nothing…" she smiled maliciously.

"Astraea, I know what you are thinking... so don't!" he warned her as he read her thoughts but before he could reach her, she leaped down.

"ASTRAEA!" he exclaimed and leaped after her.

The princess continued to fall backward with a smile. With a flash of red light, he passed her and changed into his phoenix form and hovered backward to catch her. (Like what happened in FFX with Yuna and Valefor).

"See, we can go outside the wall," she chuckled.

"What do you think you are doing? Astraea" he exclaimed. "You give me a heart attack!" he said as he continued to hover.

"Well, you started it," she giggled. "Remember your little maneuver back then, I'm just returning the favor."

He sighed. "You are reckless, Princess, but I like that," he smiled and slowly rolled over so she can straddle him properly. "So where to?"

"UP!" she pointed upward. "I want to see the entire city."

"As you wish, Highness!" he laughed, and with a flap of his wings, they went flying.

It took him five minutes to reach a certain height where the entire city was visible.

"It's breathtaking up here and look," she pointed down. "The wall is shaped like the Kingdom's crest! It's truly amazing!"

"Yeah… your right," he said while hovering. "Want to go around it?"

"Yes, please," she smiled, and with a nod, Reno flapped his wings and he continued to hover above the city.

After flying around the barrier for at least ten minutes, Reno went back down and continued their tour. He took her to places where they haven't been and revisit every statue of the Kings of Yore. After flying around aimlessly for several hours. Both of them got tired and rested on one of the rooftops where a small statue of the Fierce is located. After resting, Astraea requested if they could go to Radiant Garden and visit the lotus pond again. He granted her request but instead of flying, they decided to walk. Upon arriving they quickly noticed a crowd of people standing before a small statue which they had missed on yesterday's tour. They went towards it to find that it was the statue of the late Queen and the people were commemorating her death by giving flowers and lighting candles.

"Ohh… it's the Queen's death anniversary. Let's return to the Citadel at once. I want to give my condolence to his Highness and his Majesty," she looked at him.

Before he could say a word Reno heard Carbuncle's voice telling him they were ready and it was okay for them to go home. So With a nod, he followed her back into the Citadel.

**…**

Upon reaching the Citadel, it surprised Astraea to see her mother waiting for them.

With a smile, she ran and hugged her. "I'm home… mother,"

"Morning sweetheart, did you enjoy your tour with Reno?" she nodded. "Good, the King has requested us to join him for lunch. So change into the dress I pick. Mecia and Claudia are waiting for you upstairs. Let us meet in the dining hall."

She nodded and walked up the stairs before reaching the doors she stopped and glanced back. "Reno, you are not coming?"

"Go ahead… I need to talk to your mother for a bit."

"Okay then, let us meet in the dining hall later, then, Bye!" she bid goodbye and went inside.

Aerith and Reno waited for Astraea closed doors before going inside themselves.

**... **

Just like her mother mentioned, her maids were there waiting for her and they wasted no time to dress her up in a simple white dress (FF14 Ryne Dress) paired white heels and braid her hair. After making sure she was ready, they accompanied her to the dining hall. Both maids opened the doors for her after thanking them she stepped inside and that first thing she noticed that the room was dark. The lights were off and the huge windows were covered with curtains.

"What is happening?" she asked as she reached the middle of the room.

In a flash, the light came on. Several popping sounds rang around her and several balloons came down from the ceiling.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY! ASTRAEA!" Everyone came out from hiding and shouted.

Like before, Astraea acted poorly at the surprise. She summoned a firewall around her and burned all the party decorations. The others gasped as the flames went towards them, but Reno went in front and dispelled the fire before it reached them.

"Oh… I have forgotten about her trauma," Reno whispered while glancing at the King and Aerith.

Aerith shook her head and went to her daughter. "Astraea, sweetheart… are you okay?"

Astraea gazed up with flickering eyes. "Yes," she nodded slowly while trying to calm down.

"Sorry… if we scare Astraea," she hugged her.

As Aerith comforted her daughter, the other gathered around them.

"I'm fine mother, how about you? Did I hurt you?" she asked while her eyes stopped flickering.

"Don't worry, we are all fine," she shook her head and smiled.

Astraea smiled back and looked around to find Noctis and Cally. Both were looking at her with a worried expression. "Sorry that we scared you, Astra. We kinda went overboard with the party poppers,"

"Yes, we are very sorry about this, Princess." Cally bowed.

"You don't have to apologize, Noct, Cally. I should be the one who should apologize. I destroyed all the party decorations."

"Well… it doesn't matter," Noctis said while looking at the slowly burning party banners around them, "As long as you're fine, it's okay," he smiled. "So let us do this again. Happy Birthday, Astraea!"

The others followed soon and greeted her. She straightened herself before bowing. "Thank you…. everyone. To be honest, this took me by surprise, for I have forgotten that today is my birthday."

"You're not the only one, sweetheart," she said. "I forgot about it too. You should thank Reno for he orchestrated all of this."

"So this is the reason you took me out, huh Reno?"

"Yup… sorry for deceiving you. I just want you to have a surprise birthday party. I did not expect you to react like this. So sorry for scaring you, Princess."

She shook her head and hugged him. "Don't apologize, I should thank you for doing this."

"I did not do this alone, Astraea. You should thank King Regis and the others. They made this party possible."

She turned towards the King. Clarus and Cor were standing next to him. Beside them was her uncle. They were smiling brightly at her and she returned the smile before she could talk King Regis stepped in and greeted her.

"Happy Birthday! Astraea, do you like our surprise?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, thank you," she bowed. "But this is too much. You already did so much for me, you don't have to do this."

"Do not say that Little One," Regis smiled. "You deserve this celebration you've been through so much. It's the least I can do for all you have done for us."

"But, though, isn't today the death anniversary of Queen Aulea? should you be commemorating her death instead of having this party, Your Majesty?"

Regis's eyes widened for a bit, then softened. "Yes, you are correct, Astraea. But please do not let the Queen's death stop you from celebrating your birthday."

"His Majesty is right, Astraea," Reno went to her side. "You should celebrate your birthday even if it's the same day of the death of the Queen, for Life is a flame that is always burning itself out, but it catches fire again every time a child is born. Life greater than death, and hope than despair." he smiled. "Not only that... 8 years ago, on this very day, became Ifrit's new Champion and the Warrior of light. It's that more of a reason we should celebrate this joyous day.

"But still the reason I came back here is to honor the Queen's death. Should we be going to her tomb instead of having this party?"

"We can do that after the party, Astra." Noctis smiled. "And beside… I might not meet my mom, but I'm sure she won't like this."

"You are right, my son," Regis put a hand on his son's shoulder. "Before your mother passed away, she had a last request. And that is, we should never celebrate her death with sadness but with happiness instead. For she had a wonderful life, and she wants us to celebrate her life rather than her death. That is her dying wish, so please help us fulfill that wish, Astraea. And Reno is right, life is more important than death."

Noctis nodded. "That right… you of all people should accept that, Astra. You are the most optimistic person I know. So please smile and have fun because you earned this celebration."

She nodded and returned the smile. "Your right, Noct, Thanks… but still, may I request something, Your Majesty?"

"And what is that, dear child?"

"I want to offer a song for her Majesty… and for you, King Regis. So can I have your blessing?"

Regis's eyes softened, "It's always a pleasure to hear your singing, Astraea. But you do that after the party."

"But Your Majesty-" she trailed off.

"No... buts, Astraea, that is my order."

"As you command, Your Majesty…" she bowed and smiled shyly.

The King returned it and turned to Reno, signaling him to start.

The redhead nodded. "Alright, let's do this!" Reno announced. "Let us start with a few party games!" he exclaimed. "Your Majesty, do you want to join?"

Regis shook his head. "I'm too old for that, Reno. But please go ahead."

"Okay then, you four, do you want to join?" He turned towards the others.

The two hunters shook their heads together with the Marshal and the shield.

"Hmph… you're no fun," he chuckled and turned towards his master. "How about it, Princess, let us play some games?"

"Yes, I love that and it would be fun!" she smiled.

With her approval, they started to group themselves but there was a problem there missing one person. But that was solved when another guest arrived and it was Gladio's little sister, Iris Amicitia. She apologized for being late and greeted Astraea right away. After a few conversations, they became close friends and decided to be in the same team with two guardians while the other team was Noctis and his friends. They started with a game of Charades which Noctis's team won. The next was a Pictionary which Astraea's team won easily afterward they played all kinds of party games for an hour. Which Regis and other adults enjoyed watching. After a fierce competition, Astraea's team won.

"Yes… we won… Iris, we won!" Astraea shouted and jumped out and down with Iris.

"Yeah… yeah…" Noctis waved his hand dismissively. "You only won because we let you, for your birthday, Astraea."

"Yeah… keep telling yourself that, Prince Noctis," she smirked.

Noctis became flustered by Astraea's taunt for a bit, but he quickly calmed down and laughed it out. Astraea and the other joined him and shared heartfelt laughter between friends.

…

After resting for a few minutes, they all gather at the table. Regis made Astraea sit on the head of the table while he sat on the foot.

"Are you sure I can sit here, Your Majesty?" she asked.

"Of course, Little one, This is your day. So sit and enjoy the banquet we have prepared," Regis smiled.

Astraea nodded and thanked him before taking her seat. Reno was on her right side beside her mother with the other adults, while on the left side were Noctis and his friends and Iris. A Regis led prayer afterward they started eating in silence. The princess enjoyed everything because the banquet was composed of her favorite meals. After eating the main course, Regis asked the maids to get the cakes.

"Cake?" Noctis asked. "I thought you only bake one, Ignis?"

Before the Advisor could talk. His father told him that he asked Ignis to bake two cakes. For he wanted to celebrate his birthday. For he was busy last month because of the attack on Galahd. So he requested Ignis to bake his favorite cake. The maids brought the two cakes and put them in front of the two royals. A chocolate cake for Noctis and Coffee flavored cake for Astraea.

"Wait, you don't have to do this, Dad. It's Astraea's birthday. I can't take over her celebration and besides, we had dinner that night and that is okay for me."

"No, it's fine, Noct!" Astraea chimed in. "It would be an honor to celebrate with you. So your birthday was last month, when?"

"Yeah… August 30."

"Oh… if that is the case, Noct. Belated Happy Birthday."

"Is this okay for you, Astraea? Sharing this celebration?"

"Yup… it's fine," she smiled.

"Okay then let us sing Happy Birthday day then!" Reno announced. With snapped his fingers to the candles on both birthday cakes lit up. Both warriors' eyes widened and looked at him. He just chuckled and clapped his hands and sang the birthday song. The others joined in moments later. After the song finished all of them greeted both warriors a happy birthday. They thank them before blowing out the candle and cutting up the cake.

"Happy birthday, Noctis," she smiled.

"You too Astraea, Happy birthday!"

Noctis and Astraea exchanged cake slices before serving everyone. While eating Regis asked Astraea what they did this morning. She told them about how they flew around the city and she accidentally told her about Reno dropping her. Aerith got mad and lectured the guardian.

"If you're gonna lecture me, Aerith. Lecture Astraea too, for she did a stupid thing," Reno grinned.

"What stupid thing?" Aerith asked with a raised eyebrow.

Before Astraea could react Reno told her about how Astraea defied the King's and her order not to go outside the wall by leaping down the other side of the wall and he did not have a choice but save her.

The hunter's eyes narrowed at her daughter. "Astraea Auburnbrie Lumina," called her in a stern voice.

"Yes… mother?" she whispered.

"I was going to unground and give you back your hunter's badge for your birthday... but I changed my mind. Your ground until the end of the year!"

"That's 3 months, that is way too much!"

"You want to add another month to that young lady?"

"No, ma'am…." Astraea admitted defeat and sank in her chair.

Reno chuckled, but he suddenly straightened up when Aerith called him.

"Reno, you are not off the hook. You too may not go outside and you will join her in his punishment."

"Sorry, Aerith. But I'm out of your jurisdiction," he laughed. "So I will not follow you,"

"Oh, really?" she cracked her knuckles while looking at him sternly.

The guardian turned pale and sunk into the chair.

"Well nice meeting, Reno, and thanks for the memories. It was fun while it lasted… and please say hello to father for me." Astraea said jokingly.

"I have no regrets, and at least I got to eat my last meal." he chuckled.

Both looked at each other and burst out laughing, followed by the others. They continued to eat the cake while talking about Astraea and Reno's adventure. After eating all the cake and resting for a bit. Regis ordered the maids to clean the table, while Noctis and his friend went to get the gifts. Reno went beside Astraea to help her with the gift. One by one they put the gifts in front of her. But before they could begin, Dave together with Cor told Astraea that they don't have any gift and apologized to her and promised to make up for her next year. She happily accepted their apology and thanked them, regardless. Before they could start. Clarus helped the king to transfer from the foot of the table to her right side. "Here… dear one, this is for you,"

"You don't have to give me anything, Your Majesty. This party is enough."

"No, Astraea, you deserve it after all you have done for this kingdom." Regis smiled. "If you don't want it as a gift then… consider it as a reward so please accept and I will take no for an answer."

"If that is your wish, Your Majesty. I don't have a choice to accept it," she bowed.

"Ok then... so open it. Dear one," Regis handed her the gift.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," she bowed and accepted the gift, which is a rolled-up leather canvas. She slowly unrolled it to reveal a pencil and pen charcoal sketch set. Her eyes glistened seeing it. "It's beautiful, your Majesty." she awed.

"I'm glad you like it. I asked your mother about your hobby and she told me you enjoy sketching. So, I went to get you a complete set. I hope it will inspire you."

"This is wonderful, Your Majesty. So please permit me to create a portrait of you in the future, King Regis"

"I'm looking forward to it," Regis patted her on the head and smiled.

"Okay our turn," Noctis said as Cally brought the gift to her, "It's from both of us. Cally helped me pick it. Hope you like it."

She smiled before unwrapping the gift and slowly opening the velvet box. She gasped while pulling out the red crystal Lotus from the box. "Wow! Noct, this is beautiful! It's a lotus, right?"

"Yes, you're right and it's made of ruby. We were trying to look for real red lotus but we could not find one inside the City so we decided on an alternative. But if you truly want a red lotus, maybe we could search for one outside the city sometimes."

"Sorry, but Red lotuses became rare after the fall of Solheim."

"So there is no red lotus anymore?" Astraea asked.

"There are still there," Cally answered. "But they are very hard to find."

"That's too bad for I want to see one. But still… This is gorgeous, thank you very much, Noct and Cally. I will cherish this."

"You're welcome… Astraea," both said in unison and smiled.

After gently putting the crystal lotus in the box. It was the Amicitia family's turn to give theirs.

"Here Lady Astraea, it is from the three of us," Clarus smiled and handed her a paper bag.

"Please, Sir Clarus, stop with the Lady, just call me Astraea," She smiled and opened the paper bag and pulled out a Chocobo plush toy wearing a red vest and cavalier hat. (Red Mage Chocobo Plush toy.)

"Awww! it's Chocobo, how cute!" she giggled and snuggled the toy.

"I'm glad you like it, Astraea," Gladio said. "It was Iris who advised us to give you that."

"Really?" she turned towards the youngest Amicitia. "Thank you, Iris."

"Your welcome, Lady Astraea," Iris bowed. "It's a collector item, there is a lot more where it came from. We can go to the mall and buy an entire set, and I could come with you."

"That will be wonderful, Iris. But please enough with the Lady… just Astraea, okay?"

"Oh… right, sorry," Iris nodded and smiled.

After smiling back, Astraea turned her attention towards the toy. "An entire set huh..? If they are this cute then I must collect them all, right Reno?"

"Yeah… yeah… it's cute," Reno grabbed the plush toy and shoved it back into the paper bag. "Let's go into the next gift. It's Prompto's turn."

"Are you jealous, Reno?"

"Pfft... me jealous of a toy?" he snorted. "I just could not wait for my turn. I'm excited to give you my gift!"

"If you say so…" she laughed with the others, knowing that Reno is jealous and he is trying to avoid it.

Reno sighed and handed her Prompto's gift. She smiled at him before opening the gift.

"What is this? A photo album..." she said while tracing her fingers on the embossed leather cover. (Indra Embossed Leather Medium Photo Album) "This is gorgeous, Prompto."

"I'm glad you like Astra. To be honest, like Gladio, I don't have any clue what to give you, so I decided to get that."

"Why a photo album though?" Reno asked.

"Well… one of my hobbies is taking pictures and making scrapbooks. So maybe Astraea could make one herself and I can provide the photos."

"That's a wonderful idea, Prompto!" she smiled. "I could fill this with fun memories," she said while opening the album.

"And speaking of memory, here this will be our first memory together." he handed her a photo of them in Radiant Garden eating ice cream.

"Wow Prompto, this is amazing, Thank you!"

"Don't mind it, Astra," he smiled.

"So that means I will expect more photos from you, right?"

"You bet and speaking of photos, let us take one," Prompto suggested.

Everyone approved and gathered around Astraea and took several pictures after taking some photos. They went back in their seats, except for Ignis, who handed his gift personally.

"Here… Astraea, I hope you like it."

She smiled and accepted the velvet pouch and gently pulled a wooden hairpin adorned with a flower-shaped red rhinestone. (Zeromoon Wood Hair Sticks Crystal Rhinestone Flower Metal Tassel Hairpin).

"Wow… Ignis, this is beautiful!" she awed as she touched the golden tassels.

"I'm glad you like it, Astraea. Just like the prince, I was looking for anything related to a lotus flower. I wanted to give you a necklace but I remember you have one already so I decided to get a pin instead. I got lucky that they have a lotus pin."

"Thank you, Ignis. I've always wanted to have one,"

"It's a pleasure, Astraea," he smiled and returned to his seat.

"Reno, can you please help me put it on?"

He nodded and took the pin from her and gently put it in the middle of where her braid started.

"How does it look?" she asked.

"It's Beautiful... His Highness and Ignis did an outstanding job of picking their gifts. After all, the red lotus is the flower of the Kingdom of Solheim and the Izunia bears them on their family crest."

"Oh… so that explains why I like it so much. It is the Legacy of Izunia."

"So his Highness was right, it was him who advised us to give lotus related gifts," Ignis stated.

"Noctis did that?" she asked.

"Yeah… I remember the Izunia crest and I noticed that we were looking at lotuses in such admiration yesterday so I wanted to give a gift to represent your family legacy. If that is okay with you?"

"It's fine, Noct, but I won't be using Izunia anytime soon. I will stick to being a Lumina for now, if that is okay, Reno?"

"Of course, take your time, Princess. And speaking of time, it's your turn right Aerith?"

Aerith smiled and told her daughter she is happy that she still wanted to use the Lumina surname and continue her father's legacy. But that happiness turned into sadness when Aerith told them about their punishment. Astraea and Reno can't help but to mope and accept defeat once again. Seeing their reaction, Noctis and his friend laughed at them.

The Fire Maiden glared at them to stop before sighing and turning to her guardian.

"So... it's your turn now, Reno, Where is your gift?"

"Well… I don't have any physical gift at the moment so… can I sing a song to you?"

"You can sing?"

"I can, So are you willing to listen?"

"Go ahead, I want to hear your voice."

"Okay then, let me just get something," he said before teleporting.

A minute passed he returned with an electric guitar and an amplifier.

Dave leaned in and asked Aerith. "Where did he get that?"

"Don't know. Reno is always full of surprises," Aerith answered. "Let us just watch and see."

After preparing the instrument, the redhead asked if everyone was ready. They all nodded, so with a deep breath he played. He smiled at his master before singing. (English Dub Fire Force OP "Inferno" FULL VER.【Sam Luff】- Studio Yuraki). The others awed as the guardian continued to sing freely. During the entire time, Reno kept his eyes on the Fire Maiden. She continued to listen to him with admiration, and with a smile, he finished the last verse of the song.

"_We will walk and live_

_our lives until_

_our light burns out!"_

The others stood up and clapped while Astarea went to hug him."Wow, Reno! You never said you're that talented," Astraea chuckled

"Well, I got it from my master," he hugged her back. "Do you like it?"

She nodded. "I _loved_ it! Maybe we can sing duet sometimes?"

"Will look forward to it, Princess," he winked and ruffled her hair.

"I said stop doing that! Is your last warning, Reno!" He did not listen and continued. With a huff, she twisted his wrist and threw him over her shoulder and slammed him on the floor. "I said stop it!"

Noctis gulped and leaned towards his best friend. "Hey… Prompto… remind me to never touch Astraea's hair ever again," he whispered.

"Likewise, buddy."

"Lets us take her advice and don't call her _princess _or _her highness_ anymore too," Ignis suggested.

The four friends gazed at each other and nodded in agreement.

"_**Reno did never learn his lesson," **__Somnus chuckled. _

After hearing the Founder King's voice, Regis could not help but laugh. Astraea gazed at him in bewilderment before laughing after that the others joined in. After laughing, Astraea helped Reno to his feet and thanked all of them for coming. They all smiled and told her it was nothing. She returned their smile and asked the king if she could now sing, after all, the party is now finished and she requested if she could use the grand piano in the music room. Regis accepted her request and asked the others to come and listened to her. Before leaving, Astraea thanked Mecia and Claudia for helping with the party and asked them to come and listen. With the King's blessing, they all went to the music room.

**...**

When they arrived Mecia and Claudia opened the huge floor to ceiling window to let the natural light in. while Astraea went towards the grand piano. She straightened herself before bowing gracefully towards the Prince and the King.

"I want to offer this song for Queen Aulea and to my father too and to all who had lost their loved ones on this day and from this war. May they find peace," she took a deep breath as she sat down. She gazed at the King and The Prince and to her mother, before taking a deep breath with shaking hands she started to play the first note and slowly started to sing. (FF12◆Kiss Me Good-Bye (Angela Aki/English)FF12 THE ZODIAC AGE).

"_Go, if you must move on alone_

_I'm gonna make it on my own"_

In the middle of the song, Regis can't help but cry because the song made him remember Queen Aulea's last words to him. Before her death bed, Aulea made Regis promise that he will continue on living for his son and for the kingdom and not to be burned by her passing. Regis lowered his head as he listened intently to the song. As Astraea continued to sing she couldn't help but cry as she remembered her father's last words. To be his living legacy and to never give up.

"_Go, I will give you wings to fly_

_Cast all your fears into the sky"_

Aerith was able to put on a brave face but when she saw her daughter crying. She let her emotion go and weep. The others were slightly affected by the song, they shed a few tears as they listened in silence. Astraea sang with all her heart and whispered the last verse as she let her tears fall into the keys.

"_Kiss me good-bye, love's memory_

_You put the dream in my reality."_

As the song finished the princess continued to cry. She put her hand on her face to cover her tears. Seeing this Aerith went to her and hugged her. Astraea embraced her mother and buried her face into her chest.

"I miss… him...I miss father… I should have told him that I love him,"

"You don't have to, Astraea. He knows how much you love him. Your song will reach him," she whispered and wiped all her tears away.

The Princess looked up to see her mother was crying too, with shaking hands she too wiped her tears before hugging her again.

The mother and daughter shared a moment of silence while the others gathered themselves. Noctis seeing his father being affected the most went to his side and offered his handkerchief. Regis has moved by the prince's action without saying any word he hugged him.

"Even if you did not meet your mother, Noctis, Always remembered she loved and cherished you. For you are her world."

"I know… Dad… you don't need to tell me that."

The father and son deepened their embrace as the shared to own moment of silence. While the others gave the two family time to mourn for their loved ones.

Reno's eyes softened as he continued to gaze at his family. Carbuncle appeared on his shoulder. "Why does death always follow our family, Reno?"

"I don't know… why… but one thing is for sure like before… this will not stop them. They are always able to move forward. We just need to help them just what we have done for the past two thousand years."

Carbuncle nodded. "You are right, let us make sure that we won't commit the same mistake. We need to make sure that we will triumph this time."

"Don't worry you will… I make sure of that," Reno clenched his fist as he looked at the two warriors. "I will do everything to protect them," After a few seconds he looked at her. "So where have you been, Cally? Aerith said that you were missing the whole day?"

"It's a secret."

"A secret huh? Does it have anything to do with the princess?" Carbuncle just nodded. "Can you tell me what it is?" she shook her head. "Fine, be like that!" he sighed and gazed at mourning families "Go towards the King and the Prince and comfort them while I comfort Astraea and Aerith."

Carbuncle nodded before teleporting to Noctis's shoulder. With that Reno went to his master's side to comfort them. It took five minutes to calm the two mourning families down. After that Regis decided to go and visit the Queen's tomb and requested the others to join them. With their approval, they all went to the cemetery together.

**…**

After arriving Regis and Noctis went alone inside the Queen's tomb to pray while the others stayed and offered their prayers outside to give the two royals some space. After that Regis went to Zack's tombstone and offered some flowers to it. Just like before they gave the Lumina family some space.

Astraea crouched down and put a bouquet of yellow daisies in her father's tomb. While Aerith, Dave, and Reno remained standing. She was surprised by how many bouquets there were.

"Father never did tell me how popular he is," she smiled sadly.

"Well your father did save a lot of people, Astraea." she crouched down beside her.

"But even with all the popularity being the best hunter in all of Lucis it did not change him one bit. He is still the goofy and carefree father you know and he truly loves you.

"I know… do you think I can be his legacy?"

"But of course, Astraea," Reno chimed in and crouched down. "You are doing it now by accepting your role as Ifrit's new champion. You brought honor to Lumina's name and I know Zack will be proud of you."

"Reno is right, my dear," she grabbed her hands and stroked it. "Just don't overdo it okay and promise me that your school is your top priority before anything else. After all, you made a promise to your father that you will follow in his footsteps and be top of your class."

"I promise, but if I'm going to follow in my father's footsteps should I be allowed to go on hunting? Does this mean Am not grounded anymore, after all, I need to start training, right?" she asked sheepishly

"Hahaha, nice try, Young lady," Aerith stood up and crossed her arms."But you're still grounded."

Astraea laughed. "It's worth a try,"

"Don't worry, Astraea we can go at night in secret," Reno whispered and winked as he helped her on his feet.

"Go ahead… do that you two will be in a lot of trouble," Aerith warned.

"Don't take Reno's advice, Astraea, you don't want to anger the second-best hunter in all of Lucis right, which is your mother." Dave smiled and ruffled her hair. "But don't worry I will train you in the ways of the hunter in the future."

"Really? Thank you, Uncle!" she hugged him and Dave hugged her back and gestured to his sister to join. With a smile, Aerith nodded and went for an embrace.

"Hey, Reno? What are you waiting for?" Astraea asked standing in the middle of the two hunters.

"Who me?" he pointed at himself.

"Yes, you… come on, after all, you're an official member of the hunters and the Auburnbrie and Lumina family."

"It's an honor," he bowed before joining the hug.

They shared a heartfelt embrace as the others watched in the distance. After a few minutes, they bid their goodbye to Zack's tomb and returned to the Citadel.

…

After arriving at the Citadel, Regis requested them to join him one last time for dinner for it was already 6 p.m. Again they all accepted it and ate in silence. After dinner, Astraea asked if she could be an excuse for she is now tired and wanted to go to sleep early. Noctis asked the same for the visit from the cemetery and the party drained all of their energy. Regis gave them his approval and told them to have a pleasant night. But before leaving Astraea thanked the King again for the party and the others for coming and she even asked Mecia and Claudia to enjoy the rest of the night and take a rest. For Reno and she can go back to her chamber alone. The maids nodded and bid her a pleasant night and she returned it before going to her chamber with Reno.

Upon arriving, Reno opened the door for her and let her do her bedtime routine while he fetched her favorite pot of tea from the kitchen. After removing the pin that Ignis gave her she placed it inside a jewelry box for safekeeping and took a quick warm shower and after changing into her pajamas. She went to her vanity mirror and sat down and she started to brush her hair. While brushing her hair she noticed a box on her bed which was not there minutes ago. Slowly she went and sat on the bed and opened the velvet bow. She gasped and her eyes widened as she gently pulled out a clear crystal ball with a real red lotus floating inside of it.

"Wow…" she awed. "It's beautiful,"

A couple of minutes later Reno returned and set the pot of Peppermint tea down on the coffee table and went to Astraea who's busy looking at something.

"What is that, Princess?"

"I should be asking that question, Reno. Look what I found," She showed it to him.

It took him a couple of seconds to register what he was looking at. "Oh, so you found it!"

"Wait so this is yours?"

"Yup… it's my final surprise for this day. I hope you like it."

"I loved it, Reno!" she put down the crystal ball before hugging him. "I really wanted to see one and now I have one so thank you so much! "

"Your welcome, Princess."

After grabbing the golden stand that comes with it she set it down on the nightstand.

"There it's perfect, Thanks again, for everything, Reno." she hugged him

Again.

"Your welcome, Astraea," he said as he hugged her back. "So do you still want to drink your tea?"

"Yes, please join me, Reno. I can't finish the whole pot on my own."

He nodded and joined his master. After finishing the whole pot Astraea fell asleep on the sofa. Carefully Reno picked her up and gently laid her in bed and pulled the cover on her.

"Good Night, Princess." he kissed her in the forehead before stepping back and looking at the crystal ball in the nightstand before walking towards the terrace and closing the doors behind him.

"You can come now, Somnus," Reno said as the spirit of the former king appeared in front of him. "You're lucky that I was able to catch on and how and when did you obtain a _Red lotus_?"

"It was Cally you found it."

"So that is the reason why she disappeared. So where did she find it?"

"In Steyliff Grove."

"Oh… I should thank her later then."

"Yes, you should, after all, she created the crystal ball from her ability and looks like I'm right my sister loves it," he said while watching his sister through the glass doors.

"Yes she does," he said while looking at the sleeping princess. "Are you okay that I took credit for it?"

"It's fine, Reno. It would be weird if she knew that it's from me, After all, she does not remember that I'm her brother and let's keep it that way."

"K then… So are you ready for tomorrow? For is the day they are going to move out of the Citadel, are you okay with it?"

Somnus looked at him then back to his sister. "Yes, I'm fine with that. Just make sure to protect and guide her, Reno."

"You don't have to ask, I will be at her side."

The Founder King nodded and smiled. "Good… I did not have the chance to thank you for making her birthday memorable one, Reno. So please accept my deepest gratitude," he bowed Slightly.

"Don't do that, Somnus. It was nothing and I can't take all the credit, King Regis and Aerith helped me a lot this day so you should thank them."

"I will do it now… have a pleasant night, Reno."

"You too, Founder King," he bowed before, and after nodding back Somnus' spirit faded.

Reno took a final look at the night sky before sighing, "What a day!" stretched his arms over his head before yawning. "Time for bed," he said before going back inside and transforming into his chick form. He crawled into bed and snuggled beside his master.

"Good night… Fire Maiden."

* * *

THANK YOU! I hope you enjoy this and have a wonderful day and keep safe!✩


End file.
